Vampire: De Angelorum
by Archdruid-Sephiroth
Summary: NGE x Vampire The Masquerade: The Angel Wars are about to begin and the world holds its breath. The future of the human world hangs in the balance, but the World of Darkness is threatened too; what affects one inevitably affects the other. And so while the Angel War rages, a shadow war begins for control of the future. ON HOLD as of 5/22/2014
1. First Contact, Part I

"_It is time for you to be a man…"_

Those were Gendo Ikari's last words to his now abandoned son. But at such a young age, barely 5 years old, how can a child become a man? And so he did what any child would do in that situation… he cried.

Hours ticked by with no one around at all. He sat down against the building at the station, no longer crying, simply accepting that he had to be patient. His uncle would be here eventually and then he could go home. And so he stayed silent like a good little child.

Finally nearly an hour after Shinji Ikari was resigned to his fate, an older model car drove up and an older looking gentleman stepped out. He walked up the stairs and towards Shinji. The child stood up, happy that someone came for him, when suddenly two black cars came out of seemingly nowhere and flanked the man's car. The old man tried to get to Shinji before anyone got out of the vehicles, but then it simply wasn't possible.

It happened fast… faster than even Shinji and his acute eyes and mind could follow. Suddenly an older looking western gentleman with dark hair and wearing a fedora was in front of his uncle. The child never saw him coming and the man Shinji assumed to be his uncle apparently didn't either as he all but ran into the darkly dressed gentleman.

He struggled a moment as the westerner held him off the ground by his shirt and stared into his face. Suddenly the uncle stopped struggling and simply stared back. Words were exchanged but Shinji couldn't hear them. Finally the conflict seemed to have ended as quickly as it started as the westerner gently put his uncle back down and the uncle nodded calmly before shooting a brief smile Shinji's way. Then, without a word the uncle walked back to his car where the other two vehicles were pulling away to allow him to enter.

Now Shinji was confused. Wasn't his uncle supposed to pick him up?

"Hello, Shinji," the westerner spoke in perfect Japanese. He removed his hat and took a bow. "My name is Renard Pembrooke."

"Hello… Pembrooke-sama," Shinji said tentatively.

"I'm afraid that it seems like your uncle will not be able to take care of you as planned, so I have decided to take care of you myself."

"I see," Shinji replied nervously.

"Now now, don't be afraid, my child. I will take better care of you than that man could ever have. I promise you; You'll have the best food, the best clothes, the best education money can buy… yes, I will give you everything you desire."

Though Shinji knew he should have gone with his uncle, this Pembrooke fellow was offering him things that sounded good.

"O-ok," he finally relented. And Renard smiled at his acquiescence.

* * *

**Five Years Later**

* * *

Shinji had become the echo of a young man at the age of 10. He was top of his class in all of his studies, head of the chess club, and spent a lot of time working with his new father, Renard Pembrooke. As he walked into the old man's study, he remembered the summons given to him by the servant and wondered what was so special about today.

When he walked in he realized instantly that he wasn't alone. There was a young girl there, obviously English by her simple school uniform with light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She couldn't have been older than 14 or 15 by Shinji's estimation, and he'd like to think at least that he's become a good observer of such details.

"You wanted to see me father?" Shinji asked as he approached the desk. He glanced back over at the girl to his right still sitting near the desk. She was very pretty, and a little distracting. She smiled at him sweetly but said nothing.

"You've grown into quite the young man," Renard commented as a low rumble of thunder covered the mansion they were living in. The boy noted how nasty the weather looked but focused his attention on his father. "Shinji, you know I have business outside of our family's finances and such, yes?" Shinji nodded. "It is time to bring you into that side of my life. But before I can do that, I have one last gift for you."

"A gift?" Shinji replied. "But it isn't even my birthday."

"I know," he replied. "But it is a very special gift, one that I had to wait until now to give you and one that you will cherish forever." He motioned Shinji to come around to his side of the desk.

Ever the obedient son, Shinji moved closer to his sitting father. At only 10 years of age, Shinji was still shorter than him despite the siting position. He came closer, ever trusting…

He was more confused than hurt when he was suddenly grabbed and his head was tilted to the side without his desire. Even when he felt the piercing pain in his neck he was still confused more than anything else. Father wouldn't hurt him, would he? And because of that, Shinji didn't even struggle as his life blood was taken from him.

The girl continued to watch still smiling as the boy was drained in front of her by Renard Pembrooke. She knew her turn was coming, and she was anxious. Though for what she would get out of this scenario, it could be viewed as wrong on so many levels.

Shinji felt weakness spread across him, and felt cold. He shivered in his father's hands as he continued to be drained. Yet even now, he dared not question his father, even as his sight began to fade, the world became distant and Shinji succumbed to the veil of darkness that was death. He felt himself move slightly but it was a dull sensation, like a cotton ball falling upon the skin. It wasn't until the first drops of something new entered his body via his mouth that everything changed.

Suddenly, he was in pain. His body felt as if it was being assaulted by needles, and those needles were on fire. His body had fallen asleep due to blood loss and now it was awakening with a vengeance. He sucked on the source of this new liquid, getting more. He felt as if he was suddenly surging with raw power. Never in is life has he felt anything even remotely close to this sensation as it pulsed in his veins despite the lack of a true heartbeat.

The source of the sweet liquid was taken from Shinji and he was unceremoniously dropped to the floor. The girl at this point stood up, smoothing her skirt with her hands in the same motion, and then walked slowly towards Shinji.

"Still thirsty?" she asked in a sweet voice catching the now feral boy's attention. Shinji looked up at her and saw into her skin… saw the veins in her body and saw the target on her neck. He watched as she stopped a few feet from him and gracefully sank to her knees, her arms welcoming him to her.

Shinji wasted no time, nearly throwing himself into the girl's embrace. She turned her head and stretched her neck for him and Shinji clumsily bit down with his newly formed fangs. The girl made a sound of mixed pain and pleasure as she was pierced and Shinji hungrily drank from her veins. She held him encouragingly, taking in the feeling of being made weaker by another. Though it felt good to be drained, Shinji was an amateur and she wouldn't receive full satisfaction from him. But her taste would now be ingrained into his psyche for all time, which was precisely what she desired.

Her body shuddered none-the-less from the blood draining. He had already drank much from his father so the girl knew he would not be able to drain her dry. She lay back on the floor feeling a little light headed as Renard chuckled darkly and stood up. Shinji stopped drinking, licking the blood from her neck and simply lay upon her exhausted from his exertions.

"I'm glad you enjoyed that," Renard whispered. "It only gets better from here."

Shinji's eyes became heavy as the transformation continued on the cellular level. The girl, nearly on the verge of unconsciousness herself gently held the boy as if he were the most important thing in her life.

"Now you are ready," Renard continued. "Ready to leave this world of mortals and take your first steps into a realm of power. Welcome by boy… to the World of Darkness!" Renard threw his head back and laughed evilly as the storm intensified outside the mansion…

* * *

**Archdruid Sephiroth Presents**

**A Neon Genesis Evangelion x World of Darkness Story**

**Vampire: De Angelorum**

* * *

**I: First Contact, Part I**

* * *

**Pembrooke Estate, 4 Years Later**

* * *

Shinji would have likely lived in some suburban area if he had lived with his uncle. But his foster father, Renard Pembrooke, would of course have none of that. Only the best for his adopted son, and so he received it. Shinji got to grow up in a sprawling manor house built outside of the suburban areas of Kyoto. The house was full of rooms, finery, and of course servants. Some of these servants were not meant for cooking and cleaning but rather for a more important purpose to the residents…

… They were "Cattle", a term here meaning "they who give their blood to their vampire masters willingly". While some performed double duty, most either were live in cattle, or belonged to the clan rather than the master of the house hold, and thus visited occasionally.

It was close to four and a half years since the day Shinji Ikari crossed over into the World of Darkness. He continued to grow, and his appetites for things increased as he grew. What increased most was his appetite for knowledge. Not a day went by that he didn't spend at least a few hours reading in the massive library of his home. He learned much from his father who he learned was actually very important in vampire circles… his father was the Prince of Tokyo-3.

Just as soon as the city was established, the vampire population, and thus the Camarilla itself, the ruling body of the vampires, soon followed. Shinji had a lot of responsibilities to take on as he grew older, but this was expected as not only the son of the Prince, but also as a member of Clan Ventrue. Politics would be his meat, and business his wine, and through both, he learned that the reins of power are easily manipulated given enough money and influence. Being an expert in vampiric powers was another helpful aspect…

Shinji focused on his mental skills above any of his physical skills and so he has become masterful with regards of his use of the disciplines of Dominate and Presence. In short, he was able to make people want to be on his side and had enough influence that he could get anyone to see things his way if needed. Already his influence was felt though much of the Asian part of the Camarilla, much to his father's pride.

Influence, he found, was a matter of both patience and exposure. He made it a point to travel around as much as he could; he met with other Ventrue clansmen in different countries as well as the Primogen members of the various clans in the major cities all over Asia. Without really leaning on his father for support, Shinji managed to build himself a tidy little business empire trading food, dyes, and other commodities between almost all of the Asian countries. Effectively he was a self-made man, and only 14 years old to boot.

He also had a confidant, a human girl named Clarissa. His first meeting with her was something he will truly never forget… it was the day she willingly gave herself to him to sake his hunger the day he was turned. In the four years that followed since his embrace, time only made her more beautiful. She was 5'4" tall with luxurious and long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and curves in all the right places. Though she wasn't blood bonded to him, he still considered her one of his most important confidants. She is well educated, currently attending Oxford University over in Great Brittan. As a result, he didn't see her as much as he would have wanted to, especially since her appetite was just as bad as his was at times.

Despite being a Venture, his appetite for girls was rather healthy, and often he could be found drinking and fucking no less than 2 at once. Despite being so young, he had more than a healthy sense of lust. And while some would think of this as wrong, Japan's "legal" age is recognized at a young 13 years, especially with worldwide population being as low as it is.

Today was a special day. Renard knew it would be when he received the brown envelope from Shinji's uncle. Inside was contained another letter, this one sealed in an envelope with NERV as its return address. Of course, the message was addressed to Shinji alone so Renard would not open it, but he knew what the contents were already. Being the Prince of Tokyo-3 he knew that whatever NERV had planned was almost finished. It was time to play the trump card.

Renard knew from the Angelorum, a book given to him by the Prince of Tokyo-2, that the divine messengers were coming. Like most Vampires, Renard believed implicitly in the existence of the creator, for was it not He who cursed Caine to be the first Vampire? He wasn't sure if these angels that were coming were true angels, but he knew they would come, just as assuredly as the city in which he now rules over the night was built to defend against them.

Leaving the note on his desk, he walked upstairs to the third floor of the manor. Shinji liked living on high no matter how many times he was offered a second story bedroom. He passed one of his vampire maids and she bowed respectfully at his passing. She was a Tremere, and one of his favorites. She helped him with her thaumaturgy on more than one occasion. Today he could only nod to her…

He knocked on his son's door and waited. No answer was given back in 10 seconds which caused the older vampire to raise his perfectly shaped eyebrow in questioning. Knowing what he was likely to see, he opened the door and stepped into the room. He wasn't wrong…

Shinji lay in the middle of the bed, half covered. On each arm he had a Japanese girl, neither of which could have been older than 16. Both girls were sleeping and content with lustful smiles on their faces and still healing fang marks on their necks. They were unabashedly mostly uncovered, and Renard can make out older marks in more interesting places like on the top of breasts and on the lower pelvic areas.

Shinji's eyes opened as soon as Renard reached the bed.

"Good morning, father," he said in the pale sunlight that filtered through the window. Renard mused that the scene would be almost artistic which spurred on his next words.

"What is the matter with you?" Renard whispered, not wanting to wake up the human girls on his arms. "You're acting more like a Toreador lately than a Ventrue."

"Oh come now," he replied back also in a low voice. "As hard as I have worked to create my own little empire, and all the lessons you have given me, certainly I deserve such small enjoyments."

Renard sighed. Despite having specific motives for bringing Shinji into his world, he had grown to love him as a true son. And if there was anything he was soft on, it was his child's happiness.

"I suppose not," Renard replied. "But sometimes, I think you take things too bloody far. But no, I could never deny you your enjoyments. What use is eternal life if you can't enjoy it once in a while?"

"Thank you," Shinji replied.

"That said there is a time for pleasure and there is also a time for business. I need you in my study."

Shinji sighed as his head pressed into the pillow. "Is this so important?"

"You can take your time, just don't take too long."

Shinji mouthed the words 'thank you'. Renard nodded and proceeded out of the room. In a way, he couldn't help but feel a bit of parental pride despite his son's decadence. He'd become quite the ladies' man.

About 20 minutes later, Shinji was fully dressed, showered, and ready for business. He walked in wearing one of his better suits as was his custom no matter how small or insignificant the business was.

"This came for you today," Renard said as he held out the envelope. He then busied himself closing the shades and blocking out the annoying sun while Shinji opened it and removed its contents. The sun wasn't instantly fatal to vampires but the 'weight' of it could always be felt. A vampire's powers were far weaker during the day and continuous exposure to sunlight would prove detrimental. Eventually they would burn just as fokelore would tell you, but it took time to get to that point.

"'Come'," Shinji said, reading the letter. "One word in 9 years… and it's 'come'."

"It is time my son," Renard replied.

Shinji sighed, knowing instantly what Renard was talking about. "It is indeed. The very reason I was embraced by you and brought into this world." He sat across from his father. "My birth father needs me for his work."

"I don't know what he has in store for you, but whatever it is, it can't be good."

"No it can't be," he replied. "I have a plan though."

"Oh?" Renard inquired.

"Find out what he's up to and end it. I'll work out the rest of the details later."

"You're meant only to keep an eye on him. Anything more would be dangerous."

"I know," Shinji replied. "Don't worry, father, I'll be careful."

Renard considered him a moment. Shinji was damned clever and careful when he needed to be. But would his skill be enough against Gendo Ikari, a known master of manipulation?

"He still believes your Uncle is taking care of you," Renard pointed out.

"I know. So I'm going to act exactly as he thinks I should act; timid and easily controlled. In reality, I'll be using my gifts and my superior intellect to unravel what it is he's trying to do. He won't even realize it's happening until he can do nothing about it. Then I can discard my mask and take my rightful place."

"Rightful place…" Renard's eyes widened as he realized what Shinji was talking about. "You're not serious!"

"I am," he replied calmly. "The Camarilla knows NERV is up to something, and it's not just protecting Earth from the angels. NERV will be a non-issue if it becomes controlled by the Camarilla, right?"

"You really are serious," Renard replied as the sheer scope of what Shinji was suggesting sank in. "How are you going to pull off a full takeover of NERV?"

"I don't know yet," Shinji replied. "But once I'm inside for a while I can learn how things operate, and most importantly where NERV gets its funding. Chances are there is someone above NERV pulling the financial strings, and if I can find those puppeteers, then I can seize control of the very strings that control the system."

"This a dangerous game you are intending to play… are you sure you want to do this?"

"Oh, yeah. You accused me of acting like a Toreador… well then allow me to construct for you my greatest masterpiece of manipulation. A shadow war is going to begin, and only those at the top will truly have the means of deciding the victor."

"Well said," Renard agreed. "Very well… I'll leave it in your hands. But do not forget your primary purpose is to keep the Camarilla in the know."

"I will do my duty. You don't have to worry about that." He picked up a glass of blood from the desk; it was drawn from one of the younger servants as Renard knew Shinji's particular tastes were of younger fair. He sipped it like a fine vintage, instantly recognizing which of the young lovely servants this blood was drawn from. "But one way or another… my bastard father will be laid low. I'll never forgive him for what happened to my mother…"

* * *

**Tokyo-3, One Week Later**

* * *

'_Worst… timing… ever…'_

After hearing for the third time that the phone lines were down due to the situation on the surface, Shinji watched from his position by a phone booth as several attack VTOL's baring the letters "JSSDF" on the side flew towards something large and ominous. He had left the train station about 20 minutes ago and had gotten this far, making the rendezvous point with plenty of time. The problem was his ride was late. The picture of the girl who was to pick him up was still in his left hand but mostly forgotten as he watched the VTOLs chasing down the large shape.

'_I wonder of that's an…'_

Suddenly, something off to his right got his attention. He turned and saw a girl in the middle of the road. She had blue hair, cut short around her head and red eyes. She was wearing a school uniform. Shinji knew there was no one there before and shook out his head to make sure he wasn't seeing things. When his eyes opened again, the girl was gone.

'_Ok, now I'm a little weirded out…'_

There was a sudden nearby explosion as a building half a block down exploded. Shrapnel from the VTOL that crashed there flew out at high speed and Shinji had to limbo under the flying debris to avoid losing his head. He leaned back too far and lost his balance but as it happened more debris just missed hitting him as a result of the fall so he counted himself lucky. He got back, looking for a place to run, when suddenly an Alpine Renault which could have only been driven by Evil Kenevil though this chaos passed the wreckage and slid to a halt near him.

"Sorry I'm late!" the girl yelled out as the passenger door opened.

Shinji jumped in, recognizing the girl instantly. "Drive!" he yelled as he grabbed the door. The car was in motion by the time the door was closed.

"Are we at war or something?" Shinji asked as the vehicle sped out of the warzone.

"Something like that," the girl replied. "I'm Captain Katsuragi. You can call me Misato if you like." Her calm demeanor despite what had just happened impressed Shinji, and the wink at the end of her last sentence advertised her as super-cute in her own way. Shinji guessed her to be in her early thirties, though probably going on seventeen years old personality wise. He decided then and there he was going to get her into bed with him at least once before this war was over.

'_Maybe I should have been a Toreador,' _he mused to himself.

"O-okay! Since we're being informal, call me Shinji then." To make a show of it, he forced a little more of his blood towards the surface of his skin causing a slight blush to appear.

'_Must keep up appearances,' _he thought. _'I'm timid, not likely to start trouble, and completely out of my element. Well that last one won't be hard to fake…'_

Shinji however wanted to make sure he had a few surprises for his watchers. Specifically, he decided that since it would be difficult to fake being less observant that he really was, he would notice things that most people would not. He was thankful he chose this when he noticed the VTOLs around the monster suddenly veering away and trying to get away from it.

"Misato-san! Turn right now!" He grabbed the wheel and forced her to turn down the alleyway.

"Are you crazy?!" Misato yelled as she hit the break so she was slow enough to get into the alley.

Suddenly there was a massive flash behind and she slammed on the breaks immediately dragging both herself and Shinji to the floorboards. Vehicles and parts of building were thrown down the street with great force and the dust and debris flooded the area but here between two strong and stout buildings, they were perfectly fine. The sky darkened for a few moments from the dust and the sound was horrendous. About a minute later, the noise level dropped, the light came back and everything was calm once more.

Shinji coughed as some of the dust got into the car and Misato did just after he did.

"Are you alright?" Misato asked. Shinji just gave her a thumbs-up as he finished 'clearing his lungs'.

Misato got out of the car and moved to the end of the alleyway. Looking in the direction of the monster she could see it was still standing but mostly destroyed. The surrounding countryside was in the same condition and several buildings along this cliff highway were in various states of damaged.

Shinji got out of the car and inspected the vehicle for damage. Luckily, his call saved her car from anything more than a few scuffs and a lot of dust.

"How did you know?" Misato asked as she walked back to the car.

"I saw the VTOLs around the monster suddenly start to veer off," he explained. "Since their weapons seemed to be ineffective so far, I figured something big was next… and if that were the case..."

"We were probably close enough to get caught in it," Misato said, finishing the thought. "You're very observant… and you probably just saved both our lives."

"Heh… I guess I did," Shinji said barely above a whisper, his blush returning.

"Well, we should get moving before they try again."

"Y-yes," Shinji got out as he appeared to be jolted from a daydream. He got in the car and Misato sped off towards NERV.

* * *

Later, Shinji read the brochure on Tokyo-3 and NERV, noticing that most of the information in this pamphlet was likely either just for civilians or utter bullshit. Perhaps both.

"Do you know why they are attacking us?" Shinji asked.

"The angels?" Misato began. "No… I just know they have to be stopped at any cost."

As darkly as she stated that, Shinji was able to discern that she's already had some experience with them, though this was the first actual angel attack. He made it a point that he would check into this in the future. Just as that thought opened up, the train the car was riding on reached the Geofront, and Shinji now stood in awe at what he saw.

"Wow," he whispered, though Misato heard him. "A real Geofront! I read about these once, I didn't think anyone actually built one!"

"This place is our last hope against the angels," Misato explained. "It is the true heart of the Fortress City of Tokyo-3. That pyramid is NERV Central, and where we're headed."

'_And one day, this will all be mine…'_

* * *

About 20 minutes later, Misato had them lost in one of the corridors of NERV.

"I'm almost certain you've led us down this hallway at least twice before," Shinji commented.

"Ok! I admit it! We're lost!" Misato relented. "I haven't been through here that often."

Then a side door opened revealing a woman wearing a lab coat over a one piece bathing suit.

'_Hmm… wonder what kind of scientific work requires that kind of attire,' _Shinji thought, then made a point to check the woman out. She seemed like she was about the same age as Misato though she looked slightly older. Not older in that 'really looking her age' kind of way, just more mature than Misato was, not that that was difficult seeing as how juvenile Misato seemed to be thusfar. Shinji could tell by the smell of the blonde that she used products to make her hair that way, though she looked good in his opinion with that color hair. Her body was definitely top grade, though Misato's breasts were bigger. Shinji decided he'd probably bed her if he had the opportunity, but wasn't interested in actually pursuing her.

"Misato, are you wasting my time again?" the woman asked.

"Sorry," Shinji replied immediately. "We're a little lost… um… doctor…?"

"Akagi," she replied. "Doctor Akagi. You must be the Third Child. You do look a little like your father."

'_Ugh… not what I wanted to hear,' _he thought.

"Heh… that's good I hope?" Shinji asked sheepishly.

Ritsuko didn't comment on that and simply led them on towards their destination.

* * *

Soon they arrived in a massive dark chamber.

'_So here comes the big reveal,' _Shinji thought. _'Should have figured my father would want to make a big show of it, probably to awe and mystify me into action. Let's see where this goes.'_

"It's dark," Shinji said.

"Then let there be light," Ritsuko said evenly and the lights came on. Shinji jumped back, and he didn't have to fake surprise here. He literally wasn't expecting what he saw.

It was a massive behemoth in some kind of cooling fluid. A massive horn stood up from its crown. Eyes seemed to stare at him from within a helmeted head. A sniff of the air told him it was partially organic.

'_A monster… they are going to fight monsters with monsters of their own design…'_

"By Kami…" Shinji whispered.

"This is the weapon we are using to defeat the angels," Misato stated proudly. "This is Evangelion Unit 01."

"So this… this robot… This is what my father has been working on?"

"That is correct," came a deep voice over the speakers. Shinji's eyes caught light turning on above and to his left and immediately turned to see what was there. There was his father, clad in a uniform with his glasses hiding his eyes from Shinji's sight.

'_We meet at last, old man… it seems time has barely touched you… not sure if that bodes well or ill for me.'_

"Father…" he whispered.

"Yes, Shinji," he replied. "It is I."

Suddenly the room started to shake.

"I think big and ugly is awake," Shinji stated as he tried to keep his footing.

"Damn," Ritsuko replied. "We still don't have a pilot."

"Incorrect, Doctor," Gendo replied. "Your pilot has just arrived."

"What?!" Shinji cried out fearfully. "B-But I only just got here! I-I don't know the first thing about this. How am I going to fight it?!"

"You can," Gendo replied with finality. "You must."

"Commander, please," Misato pleaded. "There must be another way! Shinji can't pilot like this!"

"I can't…" Shinji whispered. "I won't! I can't do it!"

"I see," Gendo replied. He turned towards his console but did not disengage the speakers. "Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki, wake Rei up please. The spare is useless."

'_Useless huh? Let's see where this goes… I just know he's going to do something to force me into that monster…'_

"Are you certain she can pilot?" came an unfamiliar voice which Shinji assumed to be the Sub-Commander.

"She isn't dead," Gendo replied flatly, and that already made Shinji dislike his father more.

A few moments later, the doors at the end of the catwalk opened and two men in lab coats began wheeling a gurney down the walkway. Shinji looked in shock as he realized the girl in the gurney was the same girl he saw on the road before all hell broke loose on the surface.

'_Who are you?' _Shinji whispered to himself, remembering the name 'Rei'.

"You can't be serious father!" Shinji cried out then suddenly stopped as Gendo started to explain the importance of defeating the angels. He didn't hear any of it because he suddenly smelled something that made him gasp in both confusion and terror.

Rei was kindred… she was a vampire. Like Shinji, she was faking her vital functions and like him she was so good at it she did it unconsciously now. But she was weakened though her experiences and was not regenerating as a Kindred should. The worst thing about this was something reflected in her eyes when she looked at him. They both knew that each other was not what they appeared to be.

Suddenly there was a massive shaking up, like an impact of some kind on the surface. Shinji almost lost his footing, but he was more worried about Rei who was thrown from her gurney to the floor. He ran to her side, cradling her small form.

'_Her frame is small… she's about my age… but who turned her? What clan is she a part of?' _

She gasped in obvious pain. Shinji felt wetness pass over his hand and shifted her slightly to look at it. Her blood was all over him now. The fall had reopened some of her wounds, but Shinji couldn't tell how badly.

Another massive jolt shook the facility and part of the upper support struts came loose. Shinji looked up and saw it was heading straight for them and cowered with Rei out of reflex. To everyone's surprise Unit 01 moved its arm up to block the offending metal. With a crash, the offending strut fell elsewhere.

"It moved!" Misato realized. "But it doesn't even have power."

Shinji looked at the machine. _'It… protected us?'_

He knew then and there just how important he was. Looking down at Rei and seeing her in her broken condition broke his undead heart. The pitiful cries she made almost made him cry, and it would have taken a lot to make sure he cried water instead of blood. Her eyes locked with his briefly and in the eyes he saw a depth that the girl normally didn't show. Her pain was almost palatable enough for Shinji himself to feel it.

'_Save me…' _came the unspoken words. He wasn't sure if he imagined them or if she spoke in his mind, but he knew one thing at that moment…

'_She can't do this,' _he concluded. _'I have to do it…'_

"Father!" Shinji yelled out. "I'll do it! I'll pilot it!"

Misato's eyes closed in obvious sadness. But Shinji took more note of the obvious look of self-satisfaction on his face. _'You win this round old man… Savor your victory while you can.'_

* * *

Within minutes Shinji was inserted into the plug and looked at the blood on his hand. Without actually drinking it, he tasted the blood, spitting it back out again, not wanting to willing become blood bonded just yet.

'_She tastes like a puzzle wrapped inside of an enigma,' _Shinji mused to himself. _'I'll bet anything she's a Tremere. I wonder how skilled she is in Thaumaturgy… she could come in handy if she has any real skill.'_

But something else about her was drawing his thoughts to her. She didn't have the power of presence, that wasn't common to the Tremere line, though doubtlessly she could emulate the power though her magic if she tried. No, there was something instinctually pulling him towards her.

'_I'll bet my father has some nefarious plans for her… but what. Whatever it is, I must protect her, no matter what happens!'_

Suddenly the plug started to fill with a strange orange liquid. It was almost as thick as blood and smelled similar. Either way, he didn't think it was something he should be breathing.

"What the heck is this?!" Shinji complained. "Are you trying to drown me?" The liquid was quickly filling so he took a deep breath before it could cover over his head. The smell of blood, which of course was a pleasing aroma caught his senses, but he wasn't about to advertise that he liked that smell; that was odd for a human.

"Calm down," Misato explained. "Your blood will be oxygenated directly though the LCL fluid. It's breathable."

Shinji held his breath for as long as he could before he explosively let it go and submitted to having the fluid seep down his throat and into his lungs. The feeling however suddenly elated him beyond words.

'_It IS blood! Gallons and gallons of sweet, sweet, blood!'_

It was potent, definitely not human. But what was it? Shinji found at that moment he couldn't care less. He simply continued to breathe it in and tried hard not to show how much he was enjoying it.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he said, realizing that he was somehow able to speak in this fluid.

"Stop complaining," came the voice of Misato. "You're a young man aren't you?"

'_Yes, a young man, not a fish.' _

"Beginning activation sequence," Misato called out, as the bridge crew started their checklist.

He felt a tingling moving up his arms and legs as the activation progressed from stage to stage. It felt like his limbs were heavy at first, but then they began to lighten up.

'_I can do this!'_

"Activation successful!" one of the female bridge techs called out. "Synchronization rate holding at… oh wow… 87.4 percent!"

Even Gendo raised an eyebrow at that number. His rating shouldn't have been much higher than 50.

"Better than you anticipated," Kozo Fuyutsuki noted.

"Indeed… let's see how he handles himself," Gendo replied.

"Ok, Shinji," Misato called out. "Here we go. EVA launch!"

The catapult let go and massive amount of electrical energy jumpstarted the machine. Suddenly 16,000 tons and nearly 60 meters of heavy metal and biological mater were rocketed towards the surface fast enough for Shinji to experience nearly 3G's of force. He held on, keeping his eyes closed until he reached the surface with a clunk. He opened his eyes and saw the monster he was meant to fight a mere 10 blocks away. His appearance got its attention and Shinji suddenly knew fear once more.

'_I hope I can figure this thing out quick,' _he thought as he grabbed a hold of the control yokes. _'For Rei's sake, I must win!'_

* * *

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

"_Ladies and gentlemen"_

_We are the things of shapes to come,_

_Your freedom's not free and dumb_

_This Depression is Great, the Deformation Age_

_They know my name_

_Waltz into scum and base and married to the pain…_

_-Marilyn Manson, mOBSCENE_

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Neither I, Archdruid Sephiroth nor Wolfpackersson09 own EVA. EVA is property of GAINAX. We also make no claims of ownership on any material from the World of Darkness owned by White Wolf, and hereby declare no ownership over any sub-products therein such as Vampire The Masquerade, Werewolf the Apocalypse, Mage the Ascension, or any other rulebooks, novels, TV shows or other media and materials from the same universe. This story is for the fans of the series and no monetary or other income was generated by its creation. I may have lost some sanity along the way though, there is always that…

This story was suggested by Wolfpackersson09 and given to me with permission to write.


	2. First Contact, Part II

**II: First Contact, Part II**

* * *

On the bridge, most of the crew had their breath held. Many of them had been hired on early in the makings of NERV, and so a lot of their hard work went into making NERV itself possible. Now, with an inexperienced 14 year old boy behind the controls of mankind's greatest weapon, they were about to learn if they succeeded, or if the human race dies tonight.

"Okay, Shinji," Misato said through the communications system. "Looking good so far. Just try to concentrate on walking for now. The EVA responds to your mental commands and you have high sync score which should help. Bear in mind that there may be a little lag between when you give the order and when the EVA obeys."

'_Of course it couldn't be that simple,' _Shinji thought to himself. The monster still stood 10 blocks away and appeared to be confused by the appearance of the EVA. But Shinji knew it wouldn't stay that way. He had to learn how to work this beast and he had to do it quickly. Thankfully, his mind was sharp from many years of learning and training. He may be an amateur when it came to giant robot battles, but he wasn't about to play the part when humanity itself was on the line.

"Ready," Shinji said nervously and concentrated as instructed.

The EVA stepped forward easily, as if he had been doing this for years. Carefully he took a second step and stopped part way though as he found part of the umbilical of the unit was caught on his other foot. Lifting higher he prevented himself from falling over.

"What's with the cable?" Shinji asked, still heard over the small cheers of success from the bridge.

"We don't have a battery system strong enough to keep the unit going for more than 3 minutes so we have you connected to external power."

That actually answered both questions that were in his mind. He watched as the monster now realized it was looking at a genuine threat and made its way towards the EVA, each step crossing nearly two-thirds of a block.

"Here we go," Shinji whispered barely loud enough for the bridge crew to hear. Shinji took a typical combat stance, allowing the EVA's right leg to slide back a bit. "Any weapons on this thing?"

"None mounted," Misato replied. "We haven't had the time to… Look out!"

Shinji ducked under the clumsy claw swing of the monster. Pressing on the balls of his EVA's feet, he delivered a quick jab into what he figured was the things stomach area, following up with a right cross across its odd double-face. Realizing his attacks weren't as effective as he was hoping; he stepped back and waited to see what it was going to do next.

The faceplate of the monster lit up and the air around the EVA exploded throwing his unit back a good 3 blocks before it hit the ground.

"Ouch!" Shinji yelled as he felt the heat against his face and chest. "I… I actually felt that!"

"Shinji! " Misato yelled and he looked up in time to see the monster's claw grabbing him by the face. He grimaced as he felt the claw crushing his head a little and tried to pry the claw loose.

"Let go you bastard!" he yelled then suddenly felt something smash him in the eye though he felt only pressure and felt the jolt of the unit. The angel had something akin to a battering ram built into its forearm and it was using it to try to break through to the EVA's braincase.

"Oh shit," Shinji whispered as he realized what was happening. If the monster broke through, what would that do to him? If he felt everything the EVA did, what would happen if he took that kind of damage? Not wanting to find out, he desperately tried to get the monster off, but the repeated slamming into his head jolted him out of every attempt.

Finally, the monster succeeded, the blade slammed though the eye socket an into the EVA's brain, slamming against the back wall of the skull plate enough to go partially though it and still had enough momentum to throw the EVA against a building a few blocks away. When the blade ripped out the head of the EVA tilted and blood shot from both wounds in a torrent.

Shinji screamed as he felt as if he was stabbed in the head with a blade. All the systems on the unit went haywire but Shinji was busy holding a hand over his left eye to stop the blood from flowing into the LCL. He looked up and noticed the plug sensors were going haywire, and he could tell from the console that the bridge lost all feeds to the plug itself.

"I'm cut off," Shinji realized through his pain. "Good… no holding back now. His remaining eye glowed red as blood continued to pour from his damaged one. He sucked in some of the LCL and swallowed, feeling an instant influx of raw power from the alien blood. "It's time to show this thing why it shouldn't piss me off!"

On the bridge they desperately tried to get contact back with the plug as the angel stalked towards the EVA. Suddenly the watched over street cameras as the remaining eye of the EVA started to glow and the jaw restraints gave way.

With a roar of fury, Shinji forced the unit back to its feet in a crouched position and launched into a full out run slamming into the angel with the force of a runaway freight train. The angel fell over cartwheeling down the block before coming to a stop. As it tried to get up, the EVA leapt into the air slamming down on top of the monster with both feet.

Shinji was now in a full vampiric frenzy he tried to capitalize on his attack but was thrown off before he could take advantage of his position. Immediately, he rushed in to continue the attack and slammed into an invisible wall of energy. The shock of his impact sending hexagonal ripples through the air along the boundary.

"What the fuck?" Shinji growled in annoyance. "Some kind of forcefield?" He punched against it feeling his anger rising, and then feeling his anger triggering a warm feeling in his gut; a feeling that spread throughout his body.

"No… not a force field… some kind of soul barrier, like I've seen mages use before. But this is different… inherent in this creature… and I feel like I just might…" He focused outwards and successfully created an energy field of his own pressing it forward he used it to weaken the barrier before slamming his hands into it and prying it opened like a pair of extremely ornery curtains.

"Now I–"

A massive explosion cut off his victory speech as he took another blast to the face. But this time, Shinji was in full combat mode allowing him to tap into that third and sometimes most important discipline available to the Ventrue bloodline, Fortitude. He weathered the attack by sheer force of toughness and will.

His fist silenced a second attempted shot throwing the target back further. As it tried to recover, Shinji moved in again, slamming the monster with his EVA's fists over and over watching flesh tear and shell-like bones snap under the assault. It tried to grab him again only to have its forearm grabbed and snapped with overwhelming force. He grabbed it by its face and slammed it into the ground.

"So what does it take to kill you, huh?!" he screamed at the monster. " I'll bet this spherical looking thing is important."

Shinji brought his foot up and slammed it down on the crystal repeatedly trying to smash it. The monster tried to get back up again only to get punched back down.

"Stay down you fuck!" he yelled as he made his EVA do a short jump, bringing his foot down on the monster's head. The shattered bone under his foot told him his curb stomp was successful. "I guess sometimes you just have think like a Brujah."

He grabbed at the thing's bony ribs and ripped one off. Using it as a weapon he slammed the core over and over until he finally started to see it crack.

"Just one more…"

Shinji never got the chance, the monster suddenly moved as if it were liquid and covered over the top half of his EVA. He watched as the core of the monster suddenly glowed with a bright inner light.

'_That can't be good,' _he thought and braced himself with all of the skill the Fortitude discipline allotted him.

The explosion could have been seen for miles around. The nearest buildings were destroyed in the blast but most of them survived beyond the nearest few. Shinji knew he was fine; knew he survived the blast and concentrated on calming down from his frenzy. His fangs retracted and his eye returned to its normal color. The other damaged eye quickly regenerated as he leaned back. Finally the plug monitoring systems were restored.

"Shinji-kun! Are you alright?!" came the voice of Misato.

Shinji sat straight looking at the camera. "D-did I win?" he asked sheepishly.

"Yes… yes you did," Misato said with obviously relief in her voice. "You saved us all."

"Heh… I really don't remember much," he said then heard someone in the background talk about his unit going berserk. It was too low for humans to hear over the speaker but not for him. _'Interesting… this thing is alive on some level… then the plug systems cut off by its own desire?' _

One of the first things he learned growing up with Rendard Pembrooke was simply to never look a gift horse in the mouth. But in this case, Shinji honestly wondered what sort of personality his EVA had, and why it was so willing to help him cover up the fact that he wasn't human.

"Recovery teams are on their way. Hang tight."

"Ok," Shinji replied. He looked to his left and saw the damaged face plate of the EVA. It fell off revealing the damaged tissues underneath. With an odd lurching noise the eye reformed itself and stared back at him.

'_Regeneration… fascinating.'_

But he knew that such a sight should horrify him so he played his part again. His eyes widened at the realization and he turned away, cowering and appearing to try not to panic.

* * *

A trip to the NERV medical center after the battle was apparently standard procedure. Of course, Shinji passed with flying colors. Rendard was careful to teach him how to emulate life well enough to fool more than a casual inspection. At this point, Shinji had been doing it for so long it was second nature to him and he really didn't have to think about it anymore.

It was time for him to go over what he learned so far, knowing he was likely not going to learn anything new just yet. As he waited for the final results to come through from Ritsuko, he wondered just how he was going to explain to the Camarilla that NERV had created half biological mechs to fight the angels. Chances are they saw the battle, but they wouldn't know the details of it like he would so far. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he only had superficial knowledge at best, and so there wasn't anything worthwhile to really report just yet. It was only day one after all.

No, he knew there would be a lot more to learn, and that it would take time before he really started to understand it all. For now he would busy himself with his first mystery… the blue haired girl named Rei. Unwilling to wait any longer for the final results of his tests, he got dressed and left the room quietly. This was the hospital ward, and she was injured the last time he saw her, so he hoped it wouldn't be too difficult to find her. He already tasted her blood, and he knew her scent. While he was no Gangrel, he didn't have to be to find her this way.

Shinji carefully made his way through the hospital area and managed to locate her within a few minutes. She was resting in a room, still mostly covered by bandages and laying on her back. He could tell she wasn't fully asleep but stayed quiet as he entered anyway, walking up on her left side where here good eye was.

Her red eye opened and watched him as he approached her.

"You were hurt because of me," Shinji said in a low voice. "I never should have refused my father's demands."

She said nothing, simply watching and listening.

"You are like me… Kindred." He gauged her reaction to the word and realized she both understood and in fact was. "Are you–"

He was silenced by a gentle press of a single finger against his lips. She had raised her right arm from her side to stop him from speaking. Softly… she whispered three words that told him all he needed to know as to why.

"They may hear," she had said.

That told Shinji a few important things; the Hospital was monitored, and they probably already knew he was in her room. He decided to make a good show of it.

"I'm just glad you didn't have to pilot after all," Shinji said in a low voice, no louder than he first started speaking. "I feel like there is a kindred spirit between us, but heh… maybe that's my imagination acting up again."

Rei saw he was acting sheepish and knew for the most part why. "You do not have to worry so much," she said. "I will recover in time."

"I'm glad," Shinji replied. "I'm Ikari Shinji by the way."

"I know," Rei replied softly. "You are Commander Ikari's son."

"That's right," Shinji replied.

"Then I will see more of you soon. I must rest now."

"Oh! Right… sorry. I… I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Rei blinked her good eye. "Your concern is… appreciated."

Shinji bowed politely and silently left. Sure enough he saw Misato coming up the hall to get him.

"Why did you walk off like that?"

"Just curious," Shinji replied. "I saw Rei."

"Oh? Shinji-kun already find himself a girlfriend?" she teased.

Shinji blushed immediately, chuckling sheepishly. "It's not like that! I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She looked pretty bad before."

Misato sighed. "Sorry, couldn't help it. And yeah, she did. She doesn't get many visitors, except Commander Ikari."

"Oh?" Shinji asked curiously.

"Yeah… she's… well… odd. She doesn't express herself well, and she's usually pretty apathetic about a lot of things."

"I see… she did seem a bit deadpan when I spoke to her," Shinji agreed.

"I don't think she's very adept at living."

"That's sad… but I can't talk really… I haven't had much experience in the social arena."

"Well that can change," Misato replied. "Come on; let's see about your housing arrangements."

Shinji wondered just what Rei was doing there if she was a Vampire. It seemed possible that he wouldn't be the only agent from the Camarilla at NERV since they were so worried about it, but Renard never mentioned that there would be other agents here. It was a little confusing to say the least, but a mystery for another time. Shinji soon had to contend with new living arrangements.

And if Misato was as immature at home as she seemed to be in the car on the way to NERV, he wondered just what he was walking into…

* * *

_Bang, we want it_

_Bang, we want it_

_Bang bang bang bang bang_


	3. Adjustments

**III: Adjustments**

* * *

'_I'm home…'_

Shinji was completely unsurprised by the state of Misato's apartment when he entered. The floor was littered with junk, a pile of empty beer cans controlled a portion of the kitchen, and everything smelled like it needed a good wash. Of course he feigned surprise when he arrived but that was as a matter of course.

"So… shall we rock paper scissors for the chores?" Misato offered. Her words fell flat as Shinji put his stuff down walked straight for the kitchen and retrieved a garbage bag. "Um… Shinji-kun?"

"No need Misato-san," he finally answered. "I'm a bit of a neat freak, so if you don't mind, I'll deal with it myself. It looks like you have precious little time for house cleaning anyway."

"Well," Misato's words caught in her throat. She was planning on rigging the game as much as she could to force the chores on him but he now volunteered… and he did so in a way that made her feel horrible about what she was going to do. He was taking it upon himself to clean because he figured she had no time to do it herself. "You really don't need to do that."

"I insist," he replied. "Besides, I have no way to pay rent here as I don't have a job and probably can't swing one between school and piloting EVA, so consider this my contribution." He said it all with a diplomatic smile and happily got to the cleaning. "It is the least I can do."

Back at the Pembrooke Manor, the servants did all of the cleaning of course, but Shinji deigned to do it himself occasionally. He always felt that he shouldn't force people to do things he wasn't prepared to, so he made it a point to learn how to do many things around the house. That included cleaning and even cooking for the non-kindred members of the household.

"As long as you're okay with it," Misato said at last. But Shinji's keen hearing could easily pick up the regret in her voice. Shinji of course was able to deduce that Misato was likely to try to push as many chores on him as possible. This simple act on his part ensured that Misato would do whatever she could to please him later for being such a good houseguest. Humans, he found, were easy to curry favor from. Show them a bit of kindness and the next thing you knew, you had them as putty in your hands.

In this case he was somewhat sincere at least. Misato seemed like a nice enough woman, and he knew on no uncertain terms that she would in her own way try to be a mother to him. In a way this idea made him sad; it spoke of desperation on her part. A beautiful woman like her, without a man in her life… there were a few possibilities as to why that was… Thoughts he chose not to entertain as he finished up the major round of cleaning.

An hour and six full garbage bags later, the apartment looked brand new. Shinji was proud of his handiwork and decided now was a good time to tackle the bathroom. He needed a bath himself after all. After setting his stuff down in his new room he moved to the bathroom in just a towel to clean up. When he opened the door to the bathroom, he got his first true surprise since entering the home.

He was told there was a penguin in the house but now that he saw it, he wasn't expecting it. It wasn't a normal penguin by any stretch with additional feather tufts and claws on his wing tips.

"What in the world?!" Shinji called out as he jumped back. The penguin was shaking off and making funny sounds while doing it.

"I take it you just ran into Pen Pen," Misato called out from the other room. It was then that he noticed the tag on the penguin's neck.

"Pen Squared… ah… Pen Pen, I get it now," Shinji commented. To his surprise, the penguin wasn't running from him due to his undead nature, instead it seemed to consider him carefully before simply walking back towards the kitchen.

'_Odd… most animals don't like being around vampires. This one seems to not care.'_

Shinji counted his blessings on that as he settled in for his bath.

* * *

**NERV, The Next Day**

* * *

"Aim at the center, pull switch… Yeah, this isn't going to get old," Shinji complained from his simulation plug.

"Think of it as a really expensive FPS," Misato replied.

"I have to admit, he's learning things faster than even I expected," Ritsuko pointed out from her computer. "He's got most of the grid locations memorized already, along with weapon placement and locations for back up umbilical cables."

"Guess he's taking this seriously," Misato replied. "He did tell me he reads a lot, so maybe he's just trained his brain to pick up things like this quickly."

Shinji listened to the chatter. So far everyone seemed to have the opinions about him he wanted them to have; socially inept but intelligent and attentive. It ensured that he had his father's undivided attention since he wasn't exactly as his father likely predicted him to be. A common thief in the night wanted to remain unnoticed, but a master illusionist commanded the undivided attention of his audience. The real trick as to make the illusion so real, there would be no disputing it.

And right under his nose, Shinji will gather information, even if he has to wring it out of specific people with his abilities. But there was a certain amount of fun to be had by getting the information the hard way. Never-the-less, Shinji was painfully aware of how important his mission was to the Camarilla, and knew that if he had the opportunity to get information out of someone, he had a responsibility to do so as efficiently as possible.

"Anyway, we can turn the difficulty up a bit?" Shinji finally asked. "Hitting a stationary target is becoming a bit tedious."

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Junior High School, a Few Days Later**

* * *

Shinji swore to himself that one day he would use his Dominate ability to get Misato to stop driving like she was on a stunt track. When he got out of the car and saw his new school, he sighed heavily. This would be nothing like the home schooling he had received, or even the time spent in some of the best Colleges in Kyoto. This would be low-brow, rather juvenile, and likely boring as all hell, though he knew that there would at least be some interesting things to see there, specifically the female population of the class.

Every vampire clan had a clan weakness. For some it was annoying and potentially dangerous, such as the Toreador fascination with anything of breathtaking beauty, like a sunrise. For others, it was socially difficult to deal with such as the Gangrel's problem of taking on animal aspects every time they frenzy, or just as bad, the Brujah's horrible temperament which would cause them to frenzy more often than others. For a Ventrue like Shinji, the clan weakness was something that could potentially get him into trouble depending on his present company.

Ventrue, like all the rich and powerful, tend to have very particular tastes. Such tastes develop within days of being embraced, and are so particular that they literally derive no benefit at all from drinking blood outside of their inherited tastes. Shinji's taste in particular could be problematic, but explained why he seemed more like a Toreador than a Venture when it came to indulging his libido…

Shinji needed blood from girls; specifically, any girl from around 14 years old to just shy of 40. While it was a wide range, there was one other stipulation… they had to be emotionally aroused. It could be as simple as experiencing pleasure from eating a particularly delicious dessert, or listening to a particularly breathtaking piece of classical music. But Shinji always found the blood sweetest when the girl was sexually aroused. To that extent, Shinji had become quite the sex fiend, sometimes to the chagrin of his sire. Here in Tokyo-3, he didn't have access to his normal cattle, many of which were all too willing to be pleasured by Shinji while being drained of their precious vitae. Now however, Shinji had to consider his options on establishing new individuals to feed off of.

He could simply find a girl in the right age group, seduce them, have sex, drink from them, and then used his Dominate ability to force them to forget the experience, but Shinji liked routines. He liked the familiar. Though he knew the value of experiencing new things, being a business man got him into certain schedules despite his appetites. Though he knew he could still go a few days without needing a blood meal, it was best to lay those foundations sooner rather than later. Besides, if worse came to worse, he could always call Clarissa and she'd be on the next plane to Tokyo-3 without question.

But then it struck him. His tastes were pretty particular, so how come the blood-like substance that was LCL sustained his regenerative abilities. He felt little to no nourshiment from the LCL but it still managed to sustain his vampiric powers. It was a mystery he would have to explore later. For now, he had a school to learn about. Bidding Misato farewell, he entered the school and made his way to class 2-A on the second floor.

* * *

Shinji entered the classroom before the bell rang and looked over the sea of faces here. At first nothing stood out until he felt someone approach him. He turned towards the individual and was suddenly awestruck, as if someone had just use the vampiric discipline of Presence on him.

The girl approaching him was a little shorter than he was with dark brown hair tied in a pair of tails behind her head. Her eyes were bright despite their chocolate color and her skin was seemingly flawless with only freckles to adorn the surface. While he could honestly say he's seen dozens of Japanese girls that were more beautiful, there was something about this girl that stood out. She seemed to radiate allure like candle flame, and he was the moth drawn to it unerringly.

As she walked towards him he made out her shape beneath her school uniform. She was perfectly shaped from what he could tell though a tad small on top. That was fine though, Shinji actually preferred understated to overstated. She had a welcoming smile on her face as she approached him and Shinji couldn't help but smile back.

"You must be the new student," she said as she stopped within arm's reach. "I'm Hikari Horaki, Class Representative of Classroom 2-A."

"Do you always introduce yourself with your surname last, Miss Horaki?" Shinji asked.

"Sometimes."

"Fascinating. In that case allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shinji Ikari, and unfortunately I have no title to present."

Hikari chuckled. "That's fine. There are plenty of seats open, so please, sit anywhere."

"Thank you." Shinji moved towards the back of the room where he could keep an eye on everyone. He knew he'd have to introduce himself soon to the class but that was fine. He was still trying to get over the fact that Hikari affected him the way she did.

Shinji must have bedded down with at least 100 girls over the last 4 years of his life, but never had any of them affected him the way Hikari's presence did. He watched as she sat back down at the head of the row closest to the door, the customary position of the class representative. She looked back at him briefly and smiled before returning to her papers.

Shinji smiled to himself. This was going to be fun….

The sensei entered soon after, and Hikari went through the motions of calling out the commands of "Stand, Bow, Sit" as was customary.

"Class, we have a new student today," the Sensei stated. "Come forward Ikari-san."

Shinji stood up and walked towards the front of the class, as he got close to the front he focused on Hikari for a moment and allowed his power of Presence to flow from him. It was time to see if he can get her interested. Presence was normally a discipline that was used over a wide area, but Shinji had learned to target just who he wanted to, giving him a significant advantage in social situations. He could target just the person who's attention he wanted.

Shinji picked up the chalk and began to write his name in kanji on the board, and he could already feel Hikari's eyes on him. He had her attention now, and she would want to be closer to him. Perhaps at lunchtime she would approach him, or perhaps it may take a day or two, but the seed had been planted, just as it had many times before. He wasn't sure yet if Hikari would be "the one", since he'd had many flings already in his life… but he just 'knew' that something was different about this pretty little thing with the 'girl next door' charms that no one else appeared to appreciate.

After his simple introduction he made his way back to his seat. His eyes turned towards Hikari's location and she noticed instantly that he was smiling to her. She felt her heart flutter at the sudden attention and blushed as she tried to avert his gaze.

'_Still got it.'_

Rei of course was in class now and watched the entire exchange between the two. Rei knew what he was doing immediately but wondered what he saw in the plain class rep. Of course, she had already been warned about Shinji's appetite by her own sire, so she thought little of it.

Hours into the class, Shinji was ready to commit seppuku. The teacher droned on and on and on about the second impact with no end in sight. Sighing he opened his computer only to find he had a message waiting for him on his computer.

_Are you the pilot?_

Shinji of course had been listening with his enhanced hearing to the conversations around him. There was already a lot of speculation about him being the pilot of the giant robot that saved the city. He also heard a conversation between a jock named Suzahara and his geek friend about the jock's sister who was hurt during the battle.

It saddened Shinji, that someone had been caught in the line of fire that night. Of course, the jock was out for blood, and in a way Shinji couldn't blame him. He knew that by revealing himself as the pilot now, he would gain much in the way of popularity in the class, and the hatred of the jock who was likely to try to beat him up after class.

That last part was meaningless. Shinji could easily defeat a mere human but he wouldn't in this case. He'd let the jock beat on him until he was satisfied, and he finally worked out his aggression. Soon he will learn the folly of his ways and apologize. But if he wanted to do this…

A single click was all that it took to send his popularity in the class through the roof. Before he knew what happened, everyone in the class was by his desk bombarding him with gratitude and inquisitive banter. Sheepishly, he tried to answer what he could, knowing he couldn't say some things without getting into trouble with NERV.

Shinji noticed during this that Touji was glaring at him the entire time. Hikari meanwhile was trying desperately to get the class back under control. When she succeeded, she looked at Shinji with concern rather than anger at his disrupting the class.

He mouthed to her that he was okay and saw her relief immediately. Touji continued to fume in the corner of his vision. The Jock would likely make his move at lunch.

'_I guess we'll see how this goes.'_

* * *

Sure enough, once he got outside for lunch he was accosted at the side of the school. He barely managed to get a feel for the layout of the schoolyard when he came.

"Hey! New kid!" the jock yelled. Shinji turned and saw him stalking toward him in his tracksuit and cracking his knuckles for the coming melee.

"Um… hi?" came Shinji's response. He didn't make much of a response physically to the imposing jock, simply watched as he approached.

"You and your stupid robot hurt my sister that night. She's still in the hospital. I owe you pain."

Shinji remained unmoving. "How will this help her?" Shinji asked in a matter-of-fact way. He didn't even take a combat stance.

"Huh?" the jock replied.

"How will beating me up help your sister recover from her injuries? Not for anything but that was my first time piloting, and I kind of got thrown in without any training so…"

Before he could say another word Touji crossed the distance and nailed Shinji across the face. The boy stepped back from the force but didn't fall over. Touji was surprised that didn't floor him.

"Shut your face!" he yelled in a mix of anger and resolve. "I have to do this for my sister!"

"I see," Shinji replied as he rubbed his jaw. As he was emulating the living, he felt the blood pulse though that part of his jaw in time with his heartbeat and knew a bruise would form there, if ever so temporary. "If you think beating me up is going to help her honor then my all means, do it."

Touji froze at that. "Wait… what?" he asked.

"I want you to hit me as hard as you can," Shinji said, trying very hard not to sound like Tyler Durden in the process. "If it will make you feel better about what happened to your sister, then do it. But ask yourself...' where were you when this happened?' "

Touji's eyes narrowed. "You…"

"Why were you not in the shelter?"

"Shut up." The jock was almost growling at this point.

"Hit me, Touji."

"Damn you… just shut your damn mouth."

"I said hit me!" Shinji yelled.

With a warcry Touji let all of his rage fly into a single punch. It would have easily been enough to shatter bones against another boy of that age, but Shinji's bones did not break easily. The force from the hit pulsed though him, and though he could have stopped the momentum easily with Fortitude, he decided against it. The force swept him up and he found himself lying on his back. He blinked one time then started getting back up like nothing happened.

"Do you feel better now?" Shinji asked.

Touji stared at him in disbelief. "Damn you… You didn't cry out. Why won't you show your pain?!"

"When I'm in EVA, I feel everything." Shinji stood up dusting himself off. "I feel every broken bone, every split bit of skin, every burn, forced amputation, and even every gouged out eye. I have now fought not only my own demons but a massive biblical terror that came here to eliminate mankind. Do you really think a right hook was going to get me to cry out in pain?"

"But…"

"Pain isn't even real to me anymore," Shinji continued. "Just a suggestion, nothing more. If I let the pain get to me while piloting, then precious seconds are lost and the monster I'm facing has time to figure out where to place its next shot, which may be the kill shot. And if I die, the world is doomed."

Touji felt abashed as he began to realize the weight this seemingly thin boy had upon him.

"I'm sorry your sister was hurt," he continued. "Really, I am. But one life I'm sorry to say is trivial when more than 3 billion are at stake."

"No… I'm sorry… I didn't realize…"

Shinji's phone went off, a phone that normally never rings. As he went to grab for it, he noticed Rei quickly moving to where he was. She was careful not to hurt herself in the process since she still was hurting from the activation experiment.

"Ikari-kun," she called out.

"I know, Ayanami-san," he replied. Then he turned towards Touji.

"Another one?" Touji asked.

"What's your sister's name," Shinji asked.

"Sakura," he replied. "Her name is Sakura."

"Then I'll dedicate this next kill to her. If this is the only gesture I can do for you, I'll make it a good one." Without another word, Shinji and Rei walked out of the school yard and to the waiting black car of Section-2.

"Touji?" came Kensuke's voice, the first time he was able to talk during this entire incident.

"Yeah, Ken," he replied. "I know."

"Suzahara!" came a very upset female voice.

"Uh oh," Touji got out as he turned and saw Hikari approaching them.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Ya know, I'm not even sure anymore," Touji replied obviously aghast at his own actions.

"Well you better apologize to him either way." Hikari just noticed Shinji and Rei both left school grounds. She knew almost immediately what that meant and her heart started to race.

"Another one is coming," Kensuke confirmed. "Time for the new kid to play hero again."

The two boys walked past her towards the yard but Hikari herself continued to watch them leave.

'_Shinji,' _she thought to herself. _'Please be okay.'_

* * *

**NERV, Less Than 30 Minutes Later**

* * *

It wasn't long after they left the grounds that the angel alarms began to sound all over the city. The next messenger had arrived moving in from the sea and flying low to the ground; its body a sleek almost serpentine thing with an almost arrow shaped head.

Shinji was in his plugsuit making for his plug and still thinking about the altercation with Touji. He slowed his regeneration down so the bruising on his face was still visible for all to see. Section-2 was likely to have reported the incident already, but their lack of a response to him being accosted told him what he needed to know. His father allowed that to happen. Appearances had to be maintained; this had become something of a mantra to him now. Gendo wanted to see how he would react to that situation.

'_Hope the bastard had a good show.'_

Rei was still sitting out combat due to her injuries, but watched from the observation booth of the bridge next to Commander Ikari. She inwardly worried about Shinji in this coming battle but kept a neutral demeanor as she watched him work. It wouldn't do to show concern towards him since she's supposed to be apathetic.

Soon Shinji felt the acceleration of the launch system sending him to the surface. This time he was sent up with a pallet rifle. As soon as the sled hit the surface, he disengaged and grabbed the rifle, moving to a forward position in the city.

"This is 01, no visual," Shinji reported.

"It's in the city," Misato replied. "We've lost sight temporarily. We think its detecting the EM signature from the cameras. It's staying close enough to the ground that radar is simply bouncing off the structures.

"Terrific," Shinji whispered. "Moving to grid location 53 by neg 72."

"Southeast Quadrant confirmed," Maya called out. "Careful, Pilot Ikari."

"Roger that," he thought aloud. Carefully he made his way towards the lower section then reached the end of his rope. He ejected his umbilical and moved to the nearest power building, extracting a new cable and plugging it in.

'_Funny how these things look like the pumps at a petrol station.' _As he looked up, he caught movement.

"Contact front!" he yelled as he finally got a visual on the target and raised his rifle. The Angel slid between the buildings moving effortlessly on the air. "What the hell? Why does this one look like a giant pe–"

"Move to location 24 by neg 22," Misato ordered, cutting off his rather inappropriate observation. "Kids." Her last word said just over a whisper.

"Roger," he replied and dropped his current umbilical moving towards the target area. Once he hooked up to a new cable he moved north west towards the center line of the city.

"Should be here somewhere," Shinji thought aloud. Then he saw it. The monster was rising up like a cobra. Shinji pulled up his weapon and sent his AT Field forward firing a quick burst into the creature. The rubberized underside of the monster seemed to absorb the fire without the shots piercing.

"Damn! The Pallet Rifle is no good on this thing." He then watched as a pair of energy whips extended and lashed out towards him. Shinji ducked but the pallet rifle was destroyed. He also watched in dismay as the top section of one of the buildings was sliced neatly at an angle causing it to slide off.

'_Ok if it can do that much damage with a single slice, I don't want to be hit by that thing at all.'_

Shinji retreated quickly away from the monster, dodging the whips as he went. Rolling left he managed to avoid the monster but his Umbilical was severed.

'_Still have a little less than three minutes of standby left, no pressure.'_

A full out low run took him to the more southern areas of the city. He slid to a halt getting another umbilical attached then turned around to the weapons building.

'_Alright, the rocket launcher has 3 shots, couple of new pallet rifles with the stronger APDS rounds… perfect. Maybe I can wear this thing down. Gotta keep it at range.'_

"Shinji! It's coming your way!" Misato called out.

"Roger," Shinji replied, swinging both pallet rifles onto his back on mag-locks and pulling the rocket launcher. "Going sans-cable."

"That's ill advised," Maya replied. "You have less than three minutes of power charged."

"The cable is slowing me down Lieutenant," Shinji countered. "This thing is way fast. I need every ounce of speed and freedom available or I'm just a sitting duck to this thing."

Shinji quickly ejected the umbilical and ran down the main road. Rather than look at the counter, he kept an accurate count in his head. The monster found the umbilical station and destroyed it, highlight its location. Shinji broke to a halt and spun into a kneeling position with the launcher at the ready. He threw out his AT Field and waited for a lock.

Shamshel, the angel of morning, saw his target and instantly rushed towards it with whips flailing.

Shinji took careful aim and fired. The flailing whip destroyed the missile before impact but it was already armed causing an explosion that made the monster crash into the ground and start sliding towards Shinji. Shinji got up and rushed at the monster waiting until he was close enough and jumped into the air as high as he could inverting as he went. While inverted he fired a second rocket then halfway down on the other side fired the third. Explosions and bursts of blue blood highlighted the impacts.

02:14:21

Shinji discarded the tube and drew both pallet rifles from his back. The monster lashed out from its dusty confines with one whip but Shinji was still out of range. As the dust settled he was able to see what kind of damage he had done.

'_Not enough…'_

The right side of the creature was badly burned and scarred, missing its whip, but the left side was mostly undamaged. Now the creature was getting back into the air, though Shinji could tell its structural integrity had been successfully compromised by the missiles. He opened fire with both pallet rifles, firing again in short bursts to prevent excessive smoke buildup. The shots hit their targets but precious few were causing any major damage. It finally launched forward trying to grab him with a whip. Shinji vaulted backwards away from the whip and fired a few more volleys on his way down. It raced forward looking to catch him again and Shinji felt was time to pull him in a different direction.

Shinji took off north, forcing the creature to follow. He saw ahead of him that there was a munitions building ahead of him and kept running for it. Suddenly he face planted as the monster managed to get its tendril around his leg. He didn't feel the burn as his leg armor mostly protected him but both of his pallet rifles sprawled ahead of him. Shinji grabbed a nearby parked car as he was yanked back towards the monster.

Shinji forced his EVA back on its back smashing the monster in its eye-like core with the car. This stunned the angel enough to lose its grip. Shinji quickly got back to his feet and kept running north.

1:28:10

He grabbed his pallet rifles, seeing one was damaged. He yanked out the magazine and dropped it right next to the munitions build and signaled it to open. Another rocket launcher was there. Shinji hit a few buttons arming the weapon but leaving it in the building as the angel finally recovered and gave chase.

"Instinctual aggression is no match for calm intellect," Shinji whispered as she finished arming a few more devices. Then he swung his remaining pallet rifle back to ready and ran. He counted down from 5 and turned and fired, firing not at the monster but the magazine he left behind. Shamsel reached it just as he shot it. The explosion set off the rockets in the building which in turn set off other munitions. Shamsel suddenly found itself in the middle of an exploding powder keg.

'_Hope they don't take that out of my allowance,'_ Shinji thought to himself and tossed away his now empty pallet rifle.

00:57:74

Shinji started making his way for the next umbilical station when suddenly something painful just shot though his leg. He cried out feeling a burning sensation though his left thigh.

Shinji looked back and saw the angel was still alive, a little crispy but it managed to regenerate both whips now, one of which it just pierced though his thigh. He was wrenched back towards the creature as the next whip came down aiming for the EVA's neck. Shinji flipped back on his back and caught it in his hand. He reached down and pulled the other out of his leg feeling it wrap around his arm. The monster tried to throw him, only to find that it couldn't.

Tapping into the power of Fortitude, Shinji suddenly became immovable. He pulled with all his might pulling the creature towards him a good clip and raised his foot, kicking the creature hard enough to snap both whips.

"I am so tired of you," Shinji yelled.

00:23:17

"And I'm done playing…" as the monster tried to roll onto its stomach again, EVA 01 landed on it from above, stomping it into the ground. He punched it in the head repeatedly, even as Misato screamed about him being almost out of power. His hand rose up to his shoulder pylon which ejected his Progressive Knife for him.

00:09:13

"This is for Sakura Suzahara," he yelled out and slammed the blade into the core. Sparks flew as the crystalline structure was violated by the monomolecular metal blade. Even then, it took a few precious seconds for the monster to finally realize it was dead and stop struggling.

Shinji got off the monster and took two steps before his EVA's batteries gave out. Now in the darkness of the plug, Shinji calmed himself. He came close to going into another frenzy this battle, and he knew he couldn't rely upon that kind of power to beat the angels. Each frenzy takes its toll after all, and it's that much harder to recover each time.

He switched to his emergency radio. "Pilot Ikari to Bridge," he called out.

"This is Misato," he heard. "Are you alright?"

"I am now," Shinij replied. "A few bumps and a pain in my left thigh but nothing serious. I trust I was successful."

"The target is silent," she replied. "You did well. But we need to talk about your tactics."

Shinji knew that was going to be an interesting conversation.

* * *

**Two Hours Later, NERV**

* * *

"You shouldn't have run without the cable for so long," Misato scolded.

"I did what I had to do to win," Shinji replied coolly. "I figured correctly that the umbilical would slow me down. I'm sorry Misato, but in that instance it was truly dead weight."

"It was dangerous… three minutes might not have been enough time," Misato pointed out. "It almost wasn't."

Shinji could tell she was upset about this but it was more because she was afraid of losing him. He sighed softly. "Sometimes a soldier has to take risks to win battles," he replied in a softer voice. "One must never play to the enemies strengths, but rather to their weaknesses."

"And what weakness did you see in this one?" Misato challenged.

"It was overspecialized," Shinji replied immediately, shutting her up. "It had no ranged combat abilities; otherwise it would have hit me with them during the battle like the first one did. It relied on speed and overwhelming attack power, and I correctly deduced that the cable was my primary weakpoint. It was smart enough to start going after umbilical stations early in the combat.

Misato couldn't see a flaw in his line of thinking.

"Therefore, I had no choice but to take a risk. I couldn't maintain the speed I needed to keep ahead of it without dropping the umbilical, and I concentrated on using overwhelming long ranged firepower to weaken the target." He sighed again. "I'm sorry… I have no right to lecture you on tactics."

"No," Misato replied. "It's okay… this was only my second angel battle too. My tactics would have gotten you killed."

"Misato-san."

"You were right this time," she asserted. "I have to trust your judgment just as much as you have to trust mine."

Shinji stepped forward and hugged his guardian, and Misato returned the gesture.

"One way or another, I promise you… we will kill them all."

Misato's look to him after saying that told Shinji precisely what he wanted to know. Misato had a vendetta against the angels…

* * *

**Tokyo-3 Junior High, the Next Day**

* * *

Shinji sat by himself at lunch time eating his bento box when he suddenly had a pair of visitors.

"Look… eh… Ikari-san," Touji began as he tried to find the worlds. "I… ah… I just wanted to apologize for yesterday."

"its fine," Shinji replied. "No harm done in the end. But if you really want a place to focus your hatred, you should look no further than my father. He's the Supreme Commander of NERV and the reason I was thrown into the EVA untrained."

"Your dad huh," he mused. "Sounds like a real bastard."

"He abandoned me when I was five… yeah, he's a bastard."

"That's terrible!" Kensuke replied. "But it is kind of cool that you're the son of the guy running the entire op."

"Knock it off you damned otaku," Touji scolded.

"Interested in EVA huh?" Shinji asked.

Ken sat down. "A bit," he admitted. "I'm a military fan boy after all. I love everything connected to it. EVA just seems like the greatest evolution of warfare."

Shinji chuckled. "It is and yet, it's not all it's cracked up to be." He looked past the boys and noticed Hikari staring at him from under a nearby tree. "Um… can you excuse me?"

Touji and Kensuke watched as he stood up and started walking towards the class Rep.

"We both saw the fight," Kensuke noted. "If he wanted to, he could have easily kicked your ass yesterday."

"Yeah," Touji admitted. "Looks like he's got a thing for Hikari."

"What?!" Kensuke said with surprise. "Of all the girls in class, he goes for the one who might actually be more of a geek than me?"

"Hey! She's not a geek!"

"Still have a crush I see," Kensuke noted as he pushed up his glasses.

"Maybe," Touji replied. "But it would never be returned. She deserves better than a jock like me."

Kensuke was very surprised to hear Touji admit that much.

At the tree Hikari timidly traced a line with her shoe back behind her other foot and held her hands in front of her, not making eye contact as he approached.

"Thank you," she said with a slight blush to her face. "For saving us I mean."

"I do what I must," Shinji replied. "It is not an easy thing but I'd rather bare this burden than force anyone else to do it."

"That's what makes you special," Hikari noted. She finally looked up at him but couldn't hide the blush on her face. "If you need any help with the course work… um… or you know…"

'_Kami that sounded so lame…' _she thought to herself.

"You will be the first to know," Shinji replied. "In fact, I was looking into some of the advanced curriculum activities that are self-taught on the computers but I could probably use a little advice finding the right subjects."

Hikari realized immediately that the course work for this class was probably beneath him. That meant he was at the very least a genius on top of being cute and a hero. Hikari couldn't believe she could find someone so perfect… but did he even notice her? Certainly he knew by now she was interested.

"I can try," she replied. "I've only looked at that stuff a few times myself."

"We should look at the material together then… say, after school?"

'_Could he be interested in me?' _"I can do that."

"Splendid! Looking forward to it." He smiled and bowed respectfully.

"O-okay! Um… I guess I'll see you in class then?"

"Absolutely."

Hikari bowed a few quick times and moved away before she could embarrass herself further. She couldn't believe her luck! _'He_ does _like me!'_

Shinji smiled to himself as he walked back to the table where his newfound friends waited for him. Today was a good day so far. And the time he can spend with Hikari before going home should help cement her link to him.

'_This is far more than a crush,' _he admitted to himself. _'I was _destined _to meet her. She even smells of innocent perfection. I can't wait to taste her blood and make her feel like she is the only woman in all of creation. I barely did more than awe her once and she's already pursuing me.'_

"Destiny is good sometimes," he whispered to himself with a smile…

* * *

_You came to see the Mobscene!_

_I know it isn't your scene_

_It's better than a sex scene_

_And it's so fuckin' obscene, obscene, yeah!_


	4. Close Encounters

**A/N:** Lemon Warning

* * *

**IV: Close Encounters**

* * *

"So this one is the equivalent of a second year physics student?" Shinji asked in clarification.

He and Hikari had taken up residence in a nearby computer room on the second floor. It was after class now, and the two were enjoying each other's company and sharing their love of knowledge. The sound of birds happily chirping in the sun was distant to them, as they had become the focal point of each other's attention.

"Yes, but are you sure you can handle it?" Hikari asked. "That stuff is pretty hard."

Shinji chuckled. "I mastered the Quadratic Equation at age nine, I think I can handle this."

"A-Amazing!" Hikari gasped despite herself, and then blushed when Shinji laughed softly.

"I kept my nose in the books most of my childhood," Shinji explained. "I absolutely loved reading. Each new volume showed me another piece of the world. With that came a greater understanding of how things work."

Hikari smiled sweetly. Shinji really was trying to make this seem like it isn't that big of a deal, but she knew just how intelligent one had to be to retain so much knowledge.

"I'm a little envious," she said at length. "Taking care of Nozumi and keeping the house up take up much of my free time."

"Nozumi is your younger sister correct?" he asked, earning a nod. "Doesn't your mother help with the cleaning?"

Hikari looked down. "My mother died a long time ago."

Shinji looked abashed at the realization. "Oh… I'm sorry. I understand though, my mother is dead too."

Hikari looked somewhat surprised. "Really? That is odd… everyone in the class seems to have the same story."

"Wait… everyone?" Shinji clarified.

"Yes. Everyone in the class… their mother is dead."

Shinji knew that had to be important somehow. "What are the odds…" he whispered.

"I try to not to think about it."

"What about your father?" Shinji asked, trying to steer away from a bad subject.

"He works late at NERV. I think he's one of the engineers that work in something called 'the cages'."

"Ah," Shinji replied. "I've probably seen him then and never realized it."

"That's okay; the less I see of him the better." Hikari realized too late that those words came out with more anger than they probably should have.

Shinji noted but filed that away for later. "I'm sorry your home life is a bit rough."

"Can't be helped." Hikari looked at him with admiration. "So… what are your plans after high school?"

"I'm still not sure," he replied. "I have certain… interests that I have to mind, but by no means would I consider those a career choice."

"Well I figured if we synched up our career choices then maybe we could… you know…" She blushed trying to finish that thought.

"Get into the same industry? Perhaps even start a business together? Or is it something more personal you are looking for… Hikari-chan."

The sudden use of a term of endearment made her blush harder. She tried to look away only to feel two fingers gently pull her chin to look him in the eye.

"You don't have to be so bashful around me… but it is kind of cute," Shinji whispered.

"Shinji-kun…" she whispered as their faces came closer to each other. Hikari's heart was beating very fast as they closed the distance and her eyes started to close.

The sound of a clearing throat pulled them from the moment, and Shinji saw it was Kensuke at the door. Hikari composed herself but could do nothing about the deep blush she had on her face.

"Sensei is on his way back to lock up," he explained. "I figured I better warn you before you got into trouble."

"Thanks, Ken," Shinji replied. He and Hikari quickly gathered their things. "We still on for tomorrow?"

"Up to you man," he replied. "My schedule is clear."

"Sounds good," he replied as they made their way out. Ken watched as Shinji took one of Hikari's hands into his own as they walked.

"Sorry, Touji," Kensuke whispered. "Looks like some things are just meant to happen."

* * *

Outside, Hikari and Shinji left school grounds and started home. Shinji decided to walk Hikari home and they continued hand-in-hand.

"So," Shinji began, trying the break the suddenly awkward silence. "Are you really interested in the same career path as me? Even though you don't know what it is yet?"

"Shinji-kun," Hikari replied. "I… just want to be with you, no matter what… a-and I figured if we were both doing the same thing that–"A gentle finger on her lips cut her off.

"I'm not so sure you would want to be in my world," Shinji replied softly. "I may take up politics you know."

"I can help!" Hikari asserted. "I can be your secretary or executive assistant or…"

"Okay!" Shinji chuckled. "Calm down!"

"It's just… I've never met anyone like you… who just, you know…"

"Felt right?" Shinji offered.

"Yeah," Hikari softly replied with a blush.

"It is no coincidence, Hikari-chan," Shinji replied to her. "I think we were made for each other."

She smiled a little, despite the blush. "What you were going to do… you know… back in the classroom?"

"Yes?"

"Can… can we do that now?" Hikari asked, her blush intensifying.

Shinji said nothing. Instead, he stepped closer to her placing an arm around her to rest his hand on the small of her back near the top of her posterior. A gentle nudge forward caused Hikari to step forward, laying her hands on his chest. She felt the hidden muscles below his shirt and was impressed, he wasn't the scrawny kid most were lead to believe, but rather toned like a martial artist. She sighed softly as she felt their faces coming closer together. When their lips finally met, it was like the heavens opened up for her. Hikari heart beat in time with his as she felt them becoming closer together in soul and spirit. It was beyond anything she ever expected, and it felt completely right to her.

They held their kiss as long as they could, soon enough switching to French kissing. Hikari couldn't believe he was doing this with her. She slid her hand around to his back as he seemed to hold her more desperately. Finally, the two of the separated and seemed at least a little aghast at what they had just done.

"W-we're moving fast aren't we?" Hikari asked in more of a self-accusatory tone rather than one that blamed Shinji.

"Yes," Shinji replied a bit abashed at himself. "S-sorry."

"It was my fault too," she countered. "I could have stopped you… I should have stopped you… But… It…"

"It felt… right…" he explained as he traced a line down the side of her face with his pointer finger.

"Heh, yeah," Hikari replied with a blush. "Hey, I should… um…" She stepped back one step.

"Yeah… I have work to do at home too so um… I hope you don't…" He stepped back one step as well.

"It's fine!" Hikari accepted with a bow. "I'm close enough to home now anyway. See you at school tomorrow!"

Shinji waved as she took off. "Um… bye…" His eyes glowed. "Ugh, that was hard to fight off."

All that kissing with Hikari was really getting his motor fired up. And when that happened, his Vampiric traits started trying to seep to the surface, as well as his libido. He wouldn't have been able to take too much more of that.

"No," he whispered. "When I make love to her the first time, I want it to be special for her… not some one night stand like with one my girls at home. She's different. She is to be my queen!"

Shinji mused that once NERV was his, he'd have one hell of a castle…

* * *

**Darkness**

* * *

_Rei Ayanami was still a little discombobulated. She had just been awakened by Gendo as a replacement for the old her; the first having recently died at the hands of Noako Akagi. She sat in her room deep within Terminal Dogma. The attendant she had, Azuza was nearby making her bed up for her._

"_Why did he make me do that?" the little girl whispered. The attendant said nothing to answer that._

"_Come now, Rei," Azuza said instead. "You should get some rest."_

_Rei nodded and jumped up onto the bed. She carefully sat down, facing away from Azuza as she stared into the beaker of water nearby._

"_Why does my life have so little meaning?"_

"_That's a tough question for such a little girl," Azuza replied. "Commander Ikari believes you will serve a great purpose in the future."_

"_My purpose is to die," Rei replied coldly. "So why do I live?"_

_Azuza put the blanket down next to the sitting child and kneeled behind her on the bed._

"_Perhaps your life should be given a greater meaning then," Azuza replied as she gently held the child closer to her. "Perhaps it is time you saw things from a new perspective… one where you have more control…"_

_As Rei pondered what that could mean her head was gently pushed aside as Azuza brought her mouth close. Glistening fangs extended in an opened mouth as the child felt warm breath on her neck…_

* * *

The sound of someone entering her apartment broke Rei out of her dream. She found herself still standing in her shower as the water passed over her body. Had they been knocking at the door? Her lock didn't work, but if they were someone that was potentially dangerous, Section-2 would have already dealt with it. They watch her place all the time but can't listen in on her thanks to her messing with the listening devices.

But that left her with the question of who. Was it Commander Ikari? No, he would have walked straight to her bathroom hearing the water running. It was a puzzle that piqued her interest enough to investigate. She shut off the water and grabbed her towel, quickly drying off before draping the towel around her shoulders and entering into the main room…

Moments earlier, Shinji entered the apartment. The place was as immaculate as it was Spartan, and Shinji would be very hard pressed to find any errant dirt anywhere around. A garbage pail was half full near the kitchen full of dirty bandages, but the lack of any real amounts of blood told Shinji that Rei was mostly healed now. Of course he heard the water running as soon as he walked in, and decided to wait patiently for her.

An object on the nearby dresser caught his attention. It appeared to be a pair of his father's glasses. He walked over to it and picked up the pair, noting the cracked lenses and the fact that the frames were a little warped. He smelled them getting a whiff of old blood.

"No, not blood," he whispered. "LCL, old LCL."

He put the glasses back down noting few personal effects on the dresser. He suddenly felt as if he were being watched and turned around.

Rei was standing in the short hall where her bathroom was. She was draped in a towel over her neck which hid her breasts from him, but virtually nothing else was covered. He noted she shaved everything, probably for the same reason he did… getting any kind of errant hairs stuck in the plug suit was a recipe for pain.

"Pilot Ikari," Rei greeted without making any effort to cover herself. "I was not expecting you."

"May we talk freely here?" Shinji asked. After Rei nodded, he leaned against the dresser. "I wasn't expecting other Kindred in NERV."

"I was," Rei replied. "However, I was unaware of when you would arrive."

Shinji found that fascinating. "Strange that my Sire didn't tell me there would be others."

"Perhaps your Sire was unaware, or perhaps he wanted to keep you on your toes."

"The latter is more likely," Shinji explained. "My Sire is Renard Pembrooke."

Rei's eyes widened a little at the name. "You're the Childe of the prince?" Shinji nodded. "My Sire didn't warn me of that."

"Perhaps your Sire wanted to keep you on your toes as well," Shinji pointed out.

"That would be unlike her," Rei replied as she moved towards the dresser. Shinji got out of her way as she picked out her underclothes. "It is possible, however unlikely she didn't know."

Shinji moved towards the foot of her bed, getting a very good view of Rei's bum, and enjoyed every curve of it. It was more perfect than many of the girls he had had at home. In fact, so far from what he's seen, she was perfectly formed in every way, like a true angel. Additionally her back was virtually flawless. She had enough meat on her bones to hide them and be absolutely sexy. He would have been hard pressed to find a girl so perfect at home, and he thought about how much fun it would be to play with her. Business however was the name of the visit, so he got himself back on track before drifting too deep into that dark place.

"Who is your Sire?" He asked.

"Her name is Lady Azuza Vashra," Rei replied in a matter of fact voice.

"Well, isn't _that _interesting," Shinji pointed out. "The Tremere Primogen's Childe sent into NERV. How long have you been planted here?"

"Since age five, when she embraced me." Rei replied. "She was posing as my attendant at the time."

"Ah, the plot thickens," Shinji commented. "It is just like Lady Vashra to have a backup plan though, especially when it's one that no one else knows about."

Rei finished picking out her panties and bra, setting them on top of her dresser. "That isn't a problem, is it?" she asked.

"Quite the opposite," Shinji countered. "I'd call it a fortuitous circumstance. How good are you with Thaumaturgy?"

Rei turned towards him, giving him a good look at her lower curves. Even here she was perfect. "My Sire fears I may have managed to greatly outpace her in that field."

"Splendid!" Shinji rubbed his hands together, trying to ignore the fact that she still hadn't dressed. He would had offered to wait outside but she seemed to have no real sense of shame. "I have something to share with you as well then. I plan to eventually take over NERV myself."

"A lofty goal," Rei pointed out as she approached him. "I will of course do whatever I can to aid you. Lady Vashra assumed you might try a full takeover, if you were anything like Renard."

"Is that right?" Shinji said with a slight chuckle. "Well, it appears that some in the Camarilla do know me well enough to anticipate my actions. Not sure that speaks well or ill of me."

"Does it matter?" Rei asked. "So what else brought you here?"

"Your new ID Card," he replied, placing it on the table next to the bed. "But I did want to square things away with you. After all, I was worried after the night Sachiel attacked."

He turned back towards her and watched as she pulled the towel off of her shoulders and tossed it aside, revealing cream colored areola crowning her perfect breasts. Despite being so pale, she was absolutely beautiful, like a porcelain work of art. Without a word she stepped forward placing both her arms on his shoulders, hands around the back of his neck.

"Now that you have accomplished your mission, you should be rewarded," she said with a little more of a sexy tone that Shinji would have expected from the blue haired girl. Shinji hadn't expected this, nor planned for it, but he knew the best things in life were unplanned.

"You _are _full of surprises," Shinji replied as his lips sealed over hers. They had immediately begun to kiss deeply as if they had been doing it for years. From Rei, it felt to Shinji as if she were a bit more desperate for this.

"Is this a new thing for you?" Shinji managed to ask between kisses.

"Does it matter?" Rei countered as she pushed him on the bed. "I need it." He pushed himself up on his elbows as she crawled over him like a predatory beast and kissed him deeply again. Moments later Rei pushed him back on his back and stripped him of his pants and boxers. Shinji dropped from his elbows as he felt her take his entire length into her mouth and proceed to do her best impression of a vacuum. Shinji simply let it happen as he felt the lips and tongue message his member from root to tip expertly, despite the fact that he could tell she was new to this.

Rei's amateur technique was none-the-less good enough to get him off within a few minutes. As his hardness returned and Rei finished swallowing she slid back up his body, planting kisses the entire way up. As she reached his face, Shinji suddenly took the offensive and rolled her over, rolling on top of her in the process. His legs forced hers open as he sat up and pulled his shirt off. They were both naked now and Rei gasped as she felt the tip of Shinji's penis at her entrance pushing in slightly just from their sitting position.

"You sure about this?" he asked. Rei's response was to wrap her legs around his waist and pull him in. Shinji's hands came down on either side of her Rei's head as this action forced him inside of her all the way to the hilt. The action almost made him explode again, but instead Shinji took control over his feelings and started to slide in an out of Rei slowly, dragging out the sensations as much as possible.

At first Rei was only breathing a little heavier, showing her fangs due to sheer arousal. Then she started to moan and purr in appreciation of Shinji's technique. He leaned down to swirl the areola of her left breast with his tongue and lightly suckle it as he continued to slowly fuck her. Every time Rei tried to pick up the pace, Shinji would pull back and force her to slow down.

"Torture!" she gasped out between moans of pleasure.

"I want you to remember this," Shinji countered. "Even after a hundred years, you will remember this day. Your first time should be special in at least some way, yes?"

She purred and moaned again in appreciation as he continued the same slow and even place, slowly but surely building up the pleasure she was feeling. Shinji was on the verge of bursting but he had so much experience that he was able to hold himself here as long as he needed to. They would cum together; he would make sure of that.

Shinji shifted to a more sitting up position and took ahold of Rei's hips. The pair continued to slide and grind as Rei felt the heat within her body rise from a slow simmer to almost explosive pleasure waiting for release.

"Do it," Rei pleaded desperately. "Do me harder! I need to cum!"

"Need?" Shinji asked as he slowed even more causing Rei's body to quiver and shake but still not reach orgasm. "What do you know of need?" He grinned evilly at her. "Ask nicely." He commanded.

"Please!" she cried. Rei continued to plead softly between gasps and moans as she pulled herself up to him, her face hidden by his shoulder as she desperately tried to force him deeper into her.

"As you wish," Shinji replied and proceeded to speed up the pace and ram into her harder. Rei cried out with each slam into her pelvis. She felt her end coming, and cried her thanks to Shinji as she felt herself passing the point of no return.

Shinji thrust into her one last time as he allowed himself to release at the proper timing. Rei screamed her orgasm, proving again that it is the quiet ones that are the loudest in bed. While still suffering from the extreme feelings however, Rei did one last thing.

Shinji grunted as Rei sank her fangs into his neck. He barely registered that she was drinking some of his blood, but the reaction was something he couldn't control as he came inside her harder. She could feel herself filling with heat both in her tummy and in her throat, satisfying in more ways than any mortal could understand. Then just as quickly as it began, she let go of his neck.

Shinji rolled her on her side, never pulling out of her body and simply held her close to him.

"Why," Shinji asked out of breath. "Why did you do that?"

"I want you to be able to trust me," she whispered. Rei licked the blood from his neck. "I need that because I can't tell you everything you want to know now."

"Why not?" Shinji asked still panting softly.

Rei pulled her upper body back from him a little as she finally calmed enough to talk. "My game," she explained. "I have shared little information with even my own Sire, but for you, I will reveal everything… in due time."

"This is a dangerous game you are playing, Rei," Shinji replied with caution in his voice. To punctuate his point he rolled his hips, rocking his still fully erect member into her again.

Rei moaned in pleasure, closing her eyes for a moment before getting her wits about her again. "It is my game to play. If you wish to be a King, then you must be patient. If I reveal too much, the commander will know." Rei grinded him back causing Shinji to grunt and shiver. "There is a method to my madness, a reason for the game. Besides, do you not enjoy a good puzzle?"

Shinji smiled at her. "King huh? Every king must have his enjoyments as well," he replied, grinding into her.

Rei enjoyed the grind before she replied in a sexy voice. "Hikari to be your queen?"

"Are you jealous?"

"Of course not… T_his_ is too much fun for me," Rei asserted. "I would happy just to be a harem girl to you… my King."

"Really," Shinji replied with an almost evil glint in his eye. "Is that truly why you choose to blood bond to me?"

"Partly," Rei admitted. "I am not due in for another two hours. Are you going to fuck me again, or are you just going to tease me?"

Shinji chuckled before kissing her deeply again and grinding into her. "I would not deny you your enjoyments."

Rei knew she was going to love this arrangement.

* * *

**NERV, Two Hours Later**

* * *

Rei entered the main gates with Shinji just behind her. She tried her card in the slot but it denied her. Then she remembered.

"Forget something?" Shinji asked holding her new card.

Rei smirked, knowing Shinji would try to pull it from her. She said a single word under her breath and swiped the card from him easily. Shinji only made out her movement by the trail her hand left behind.

"That's cheating," Shinji said with a chuckle, realizing she used some kind of Thaumaturgy to get an advantage.

"We have no time for this," Rei noted, though she never lost her cheerful demeanor. "Our… activities went over the time allotted."

"We were into it," Shinji shrugged. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"I should be thanking you," Rei replied as they reached the escalator. "I was the one who was asking for it."

"True."

They proceeded down for a moment. "Tell me something, Shinji-kun," Rei began. "What do you really think of your father?"

"He's a bastard," Shinji said immediately. "He abandoned me and was in many ways responsible for what happened to my mother. I'll never forgive him of that."

"I see," Rei replied. "I believe he may not be in full control here."

"Oh?" Shinji replied paying attention to his surroundings. "Is it safe to speak of such things here?"

"Yes," Rei replied still not turning to face him. "Until we reach the bottom at least."

"What do you suspect?"

"First off, I've overheard some of his conversations with Fuyutsuki. I've heard references to 'Old Men' and 'The Committee'. The latter could refer to the Instrumentality Committee who's been working with the UN. There are five members from five nations; The US, Germany, France, Russia, and the UK. I believe that the 'Old Men' may refer to something else though."

"Something else?" Shinji coaxed.

"The real power behind the Human Instrumentality Committee," Rei clarified. "In the eight years since I was turned, I still haven't been able to determine their true nature."

Shinji noted they were getting closer to the bottom. "So wait, you're 13? Wow, I cut that pretty close didn't I?"

"If you are referring to the national Age of Consent, I do not know why you are so concerned. We are beyond mortal laws."

"It's more of a morality thing," Shinji clarified. "I wouldn't feel right touching someone younger than legal age. Besides, too many flat chests once you go too low."

Rei smirked at that, remembering how Shinji apparently liked her breasts.

Finally they reached the bottom.

"I need to go prepare for my activation test," Rei stated in deadpan. "You were ordered to be on standby I believe."

"Yes," Shinji confirmed. "I'm to be in 01 in case your EVA goes berserk again. Rei, please be careful." His voice dropped below a whisper but still high enough for Rei to hear him. "I don't know why it took you so long to heal last time, but…"

"Do not worry about that," she replied. "I will endure." And with that she left.

Shinji sighed. _'She may not be the girl I want as mine, but I can't help but worry about her. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why she seems so familiar to me.'_

* * *

About an hour later, Shinji listened to the bridge crew run through the checklist as Rei's activation experiment continued. Though he had just recently had sex with her, he found his thoughts drifting more towards Hikari. Though Rei seemed like she had never done those things before, she did have the benefit of vampress hormones behind her, and he knew most female vamps can be nymphomaniacs. Hikari he knew would be very awkward her first time and that he'd have to be gentle with her. But that was ok since he'd have the benefit of being able to properly 'train' her.

He sighed upon realizing where his thoughts were going again and saw that the bridge crew was getting close to reaching the critical point. The young man thought about what his Sire had told him, about there being a time for business and a time for pleasure, and he knew he was milking his time towards the more enjoyable of the two.

'_I have to focus on my goals… but where to begin?'_

Shinji knew his first task would be his hardest. He needed to find the strings that controlled NERV, and he now had a suspicion that the 'Old Men' Rei spoke of were the ones holding those strings. But how do you go about finding information on a group that not only wished to remain secret, but likely had the resources to make that happen.

There were a lot of things that needed to happen in order to make individuals simply 'disappear', and some records simply could not be erased. If the members of the Human Instrumentality Committee were also members of the 'Old Men', or worked for them, they would be the best place to start.

Shinji turned his attention back to the activation experiment. Rei had just managed to pass absolute borderline, and he held his breath for the precious few seconds it would take for her EVA to go berserk again if it was going to. It never did; Rei made a 74.3 percent synch score and everything had gone off without a hitch. He watched on the monitor as Rei released her breath and a single air bubble floated up. Doctor Akagi mentioned doing a Harmonics test now and Rei nodded proceeding with the next phase.

Shinji knew they wouldn't let him out just yet, not until the test was over and there were fully assured that the EVA wouldn't go berserk again. Shinji relaxed back into the chair of his plug and focused out the window. Briefly, he saw a shape in the plug near him and tried to focus on it, but it was gone just as fast.

'_Ok, now I know I need to stop with all the rampant sex… I just thought I saw a naked woman in my plug with me.'_

But after he thought this, he suddenly felt like there was something there.

"Shinji-kun," came Misato's voice over the speaker. "Your Synch ratio just jumped up 2 more points randomly… are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm good," he responded. "Sorry, just thought I saw something."

"Like what?"

Shinji's voice trailed, "Something…" His eyes continued to scan around but now it was not there.

'_But… I saw…'_

* * *

_You want commitment?_

_Put on your best suit_

_Get your arms around me now we're goin' down down down_

_You want commitment?_

_Put on your best suit_

_Get your arms around me now we're goin' down down down…_

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, I'm well aware of the fact that the lemon scene has been the subject of perhaps countless one shot lemons alone... Don't tell me you don't enjoy it.


	5. Thunderous Assault

**V: Thunderous Assault**

* * *

**Downtown Tokyo-3, Four Days Later**

* * *

Shinji's own internal investigations had been getting him nowhere so far. He was able to break into one of the computers and cover his tracks at NERV, but trying to negotiate deep database access with the MAGI was impossible. He left before he could be traced, but he knew that NERV would be tightening security even more now that they knew there was a potential hacker on the base.

That left in with the unfamiliar situation of "I have fuck all I can do". Of course, he had other resources at his disposal, and it was time to get them together. He sent a message to the Camarilla two days ago, asking for a meeting with the Tremere Primogen. Tonight he would get that meeting.

It was a nice restaurant on the north side of town. Lady Vashra was nice enough to ensure that no Section-2 members would trace him to the meet, as that would bring about many awkward questions. He was hurriedly rushed into the building then able to slow down as he approached the table.

"Lady Vashra," Shinji greeted as he gently took her hand kissed the top of it. "Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me."

She returned his smile. "Always happy to help a childe of Renard," she admitted. "So tell me. What can I do for you?"

Lady Vashra was not your typical Tremere. She liked to dress in sexy numbers that turned heads yet stayed away from decidedly "whorish" territory. Her outfit was an all-black and very fancy dress, cut in all the right places. Shinji immediately wondered if Rei's appetites came from her, she certainly looked like someone who would want to have fun occasionally.

"My current work in NERV has led to little in the way of fruit," he explained as he sat down. "However, I did get some information from your childe, Rei Ayanami. She indicated to me that Gendo is not the true power in NERV, but they are being controlled by an outside agency."

"What sort of outside agency?" she asked.

"Not sure yet, but I do know it has to do with the Human Instrumentality Committee. My gut tells me it's a religious order of some kind but none of the orders I've come across would fit the bill."

"Religious you say," her voice trailed.

"The only thing I got out of the computer before I was unceremoniously booted off was that there were several video calls made to Gendo's office over the last year that came from unregistered addresses. Some consisted of five members, but others consisted of 12."

That immediately got her attention. "Are you certain?"

"Absolutely," Shinji replied. "I just wish I was able to get transcripts of those conversations but none exists, like the calls never happened."

"I'm not surprised."

"You know who they are?" Shinji asked, though it was more an observation than a question.

Lady Vashra took a moment to muse before she sighed and nodded. "I have a pretty good idea. There is a secret society that has been gathering major power in the world for quite some time. They have been seizing religious artifacts and documents though for what purpose, who can say. In any matter that concerns something of biblical proportions, I would imagine they would have some interest. They call themselves… SEELE."

"What makes you think they're involved?"

"Three reasons," Lady Vashra explained. "Firstly, the SEELE Council consists of exactly 12 members. Secondly, 'Angels' are involved, and we know they have possession of an artifact known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which details the order of events during the end times. Lastly, we know NERV is up to something, and my gut tells me it has to do with the Angels."

"Why?"

"The Angels are trying to destroy humanity. Wouldn't they be attacking the most populated cities on the planet? Why are they attacking this small patch of earth that was specifically built to fend them off?"

"You suspect they have some way of luring the angels here?" Shinji asked, now excited that they may be on to something.

"Ask yourself this Shinji; Why was Sachiel labeled as the Third Angel?"

Shinji's thoughts about that matter were pretty dark. He wasn't sure what it meant, only that it was nothing good.

"Is there any way to get information on the members of SEELE?"

"Difficult to be sure," Lady Vashra replied. "Perhaps if I made some inquiries further up the chain within Clan Tremere, I might find some leads. I know we're not the only city in the Camarilla that wants this issue resolved. "

"Please do what you can," Shinji asked. "I have some thoughts on how to use the information."

"I don't doubt that for a moment."

* * *

**NERV, 2 Days Later**

* * *

The alarms went off midafternoon. Shinji and Rei were quick to respond to the emergency and were ready and waiting for deployment. Shinji was to launch first, followed by Rei at a different location as soon as it was determined that it was safe to do so.

"Rei," Shinji asked over the comlink. "You sure you're okay to do this?"

"I am well enough to perform at acceptable proficiency, Pilot Ikari," Rei deadpanned, knowing Gendo was likely listening in.

"I'm going to assume that's a 'yes' then," Shinji replied causing Misato to stifle a giggle. She wondered if Shinji would call her out on her odd speech methods and she just got her answer.

"EVA launch!" Misato commanded, and Launch Shinji did.

As he traveled up the main route towards the surface, the computer system suddenly went haywire; a high energy reaction of some kind was detected inside the angel itself. Misato tried to abort the launch but it was too late.

Light reflected from the octahedral form of Ramiel as it suddenly shifted its shape into a set of three long triangularly shaped polygons in the front with a spiraling set of polygons spinning behind it. The entire effect made it look like it just transformed into some kind of weapon.

As soon as Shinji popped up from the launch chute Ramiel opened fire. The launch rails disintegrated instantly under the massive energy release of the angel. A huge trench nearly two kilometers long and widening out to nearly 40 meters towards the end ripped into the ground. When the beam stopped, there appeared to be no sign at all of Unit 01, not even slag.

The angel transformed back into its original shape with the sound of metal slamming shut as a section on the bottom changed into some sort of high powered mining laser. It began to fire straight down, slowly eating its way through the street.

"That was close," Shinji whispered over the com. Unseen to Ramiel, Shinji had heard about the energy charge up and wasted no time releasing the restraints the moment the sled stopped moving and dropped to his face, rolling down the block at a perpendicular angle away from the beam. As a result his armor was only a little singed by the attack and his EVA was still operational. Now ducked down behind a power building and out of Ramiel's sight, he hooked up another umbilical and weighed his options.

"What's the situation?" Misato demanded.

"The target is roughly in the middle of the city, probably just over NERV Central," Shinji reported. "It's begun trying to tunnel though the armor using some kind of mining laser. It could use its weapons for that but I'm guessing it has its reasons not to. He's saving most of his power for defense most likely. I'm going to level with you, Misato; I have no idea how we're taking this one down."

"Rei just launched down a periphery rail to your south," Misato informed him. "Route 9-47. Can you make it there?"

"As long as I can stay outside of sight range of the angel, I should be okay. If it sees me though, this is going to get ugly." Shinji peeked around the building and looked at the angel again. It was still floating in place as the laser under it was still slowly eating though the armor layers. Shinji quickly made his way south towards Rei.

He managed to make it to her and they both remained ducked behind a hill.

"We appear to have few options," Rei pointed out.

"More like no options," Shinji pointed out. "I can't figure out a good strategy against this thing."

"We could attempt to bombard it with our heaviest weapons," Rei offered.

"One of us would have to be close enough to negate its AT Field," Shinji pointed out. "They'd be a sitting duck and at that range there would be no surviving a direct attack."

Rei suddenly noticed that the area around them was getting excited with particle energy. Misato yelled for them to move just as Rei grabbed Shinji's EVA and dived behind a nearby hill. The building they were hiding behind disintegrated.

Ramiel had another trick up its sleeve however. It's cannon reverted back into the octahedron as the top section spun separate from the bottom forming into three separate channels surrounded by guiding polygons. A series of particle bolts was fired into the air and the arched over the hill Shinji and Rei hid behind.

Though the bolts missed, they exploded on impact with the ground, throwing up dirt and debris for thousands of feet in all directions.

"We're getting hammered!" Shinji yelled as Ramiel continued releasing salvos of deadly particle mortars. "We have to abort! We're not doing any good out here!" Shinji glanced over to his clock and noticed he had less than two minutes left.

"Understood," Misato replied. "Make for shaft 3-13 beyond the next hill. We'll have to come up with a new strategy."

"Roger that," Shinji replied, and grabbed Rei's hand. The two units ran hard diving over the next ridge before Ramiel could draw a bead on them and slipped into the two waiting lifts to take them back to NERV Central.

As they descended, Shinji was already milling over what he knew about the angel.

"Do you think this one has a maximum sensory range?" Rei offered.

"It would be worth it to find out," Shinji replied. "Misato-san, do you think you can determine that?"

"We'll try, Shinji-kun," she replied over the comlink.

* * *

Misato had experimented with some of the weaker defense guns; having them pop up was enough to draw Ramiel's attention it seemed and they were destroyed one by one. Finally nearly 3 kilometers back, a single solitary defense gun rose and Ramiel didn't respond.

"So it does have a range limitation," Misato mused. "If only we had a gun strong enough to punch through its Ænima Terminus…"

And then she remembered that there was in fact a gun that could do it, though it was still a prototype. The JSSDF was developing a positron rifle with massive high energy output capabilities but they couldn't get enough power into it to take full advantage of its destructive potential.

Misato turned and looked out over the Geofront. In just under seven hours, Ramiel would have successfully drilled though the last of the armor layers. She had to figure out how to get enough power to the gun in order to kill the angel in that time period.

Then, as she stared at the guide lines providing light to the Geofront, the answer hit her. She grabbed the phone and dialed the commander's office.

"What is it," the Bastard asked in deadpan, more of a statement then a question.

"Sir, does our power over infrastructure include all of the power plants in Japan?"

"If necessary Captain, I can call in such reserves. Why?"

"I have a plan to deal with Ramiel," Misato explained. "The JSSDF's prototype Positron Rifle theoretically has enough kick to get the job done, piercing even the considerable Ænima Terminus of this angel. If we combine the power potential of all of the powerplants in Japan together, we will reach the upper limit of the rifle's capabilities and make short work of the angel."

"It is a sound theory," Gendo replied. "Have Doctor Akagi run the numbers through the Magi. If they look good, I'll approve the plan."

"Yes, sir," Misato replied and hung up. "Rits!" she yelled as she ran out the door.

* * *

Gendo received his numbers few minutes later. After taking almost no time to deliberate, he approved the plan. Captain Katsuragi designated the plan "Operation Yashima" and began preparations. In the meantime, there was little for the pilots to do except wait.

The sun had fallen below the horizon already, and the two EVA's stood on standby nearby. On an overlook platform, Shinji and Rei took in the scenery.

"Tonight would have been a good night to hunt," Rei mused.

"I don't hunt," Shinji replied. "I generally had cattle at my beck and call. I have yet to establish something like that here."

"You must be famished by now then," Rei observed.

"I likely have at least a day or two before I really begin to feel it," Shinji replied. "LCL seems to slow down the need a little but doesn't eliminate it."

"It's blood, you know," Rei replied.

Shinji looked up. "I suspected, but blood from what?"

"That would be the question wouldn't it?" Rei pointed out. "You'll figure it out soon enough."

"You so love your games," Shinji chuckled. "Are you sure you are up for this? There is no guarantee that the shuttle shield would be enough to protect you."

"It doesn't matter," Rei replied. "If I die, I can be replaced."

"No one is replaceable, Rei," Shinji corrected.

Rei shot Shinji a sad smile. "On the contrary," she whispered. "I can be. I've been replaced once already."

"What do you…" Shinji's voice trailed as he heard the orders come through to mount up. "We'll discuss this later."

"Indeed we will."

* * *

At zero hour, Shinji laid in position on a hill just over 3km from the combat zone. Massive cables connected the positron rifle to every power plant in all of Japan. The massive energy build up could be felt from the rifle's hum. A massive fuse was dropped into place like a rifle cartridge, and the gun was prepared.

"Alright, Shinji-kun," Misato began. "You now have all of the power of Japan at your fingertips. You may only get one shot at this thing… good luck!"

Shinji nodded. He knew he had five total fuses, but he also knew Ramiel would quickly draw a bead on them and destroy them if he didn't make the first shot.

Full power was quickly achieved within the positron rifle. Shinji watched as the targeting reticules began to line up. His plugsuit suddenly compressed and expanded around the chest to signal how he should be breathing for this shot. It took him a few seconds to get into the rhythm.

Rei waited apprehensively with her shield. It was called the 'Shuttle Shield' for a reason, it was basically the bottom section of a Space Shuttle. Its layered ceramic skin was perfect for absorbing massive amounts of thermal energy, and Rei was hopeful it would be enough to protect her should she have to act as a human shield for Shinji.

Finally, after what felt like a short eternity, Shinji achieved a lock and depressed the trigger. A massive backflash emitted from the rear of the rifle a split second before an ultra-powerful positron beam fired from the barrel. It pierced the angel seemingly in a perfect center mass shot punching straight through the AT Field of the angel. An almost human sounding scream erupted from the angel as its form changed into a massive many pointed star. Shinji was about to relax when it transformed again, this time forming into the familiar shape of the ubercannon.

"Oh shit!" Shinji yelled as he covered his head. The beam fired but it was off by a lot. A mountain just over a kilometer away suffered Ramiel's wrath; the blast pealing it away as if it were nothing more than a gopher mound before a bulldozer.

Shinji realized he wounded it badly enough that it couldn't draw a bead, so he quickly replaced the fuse and started recharging the gun. He began to adjust the targeting computer when Ramiel fired another blast, this one destroying a small hill off to his other side and a bit closer than a kilometer.

"His aim is improving," Rei pointed out getting her shield ready.

"Her," Shinji corrected. "By the sound of the scream at any rate. And yeah, I noticed that."

Shinji's weapon hit full charge, and the computer beeped its targeting solution. Shinji fired only to realize the angel had also fired another shot. The magnetic wrapped beam of the positron rifle passed within a few feet of Ramiel's beam, and the inverted magnetic sheathes around the beams attracted then repelled each other causing the beams to twist and the bend sending them both in unintended directions. A full city block suffered the wrath of Shinji's weapon and the mountain behind Shinji also suffered a similar fate.

"Shit! I think I'm only going to get one more shot at this!" Shinji pointed out as he switched to his third fuse.

"I'm ready," Rei replied grimly. "This is going to hurt… a lot."

Shinji waited as the system plotted its firing solution and the rifle charged up. Ramiel unleashed another blast of energy, this one appeared to be dead on target. Rei got in front of the beam and planted her shield, bracing herself for a blast whose sheer force had already been shown to be enough to dislodge mountains.

It hit the shield directly and Rei's Unit 00 slid backwards a good 30 meters before she was able to dig in and try to weather the storm. Her shield heated up to a temperature way beyond its tolerance and Rei realized that it was melting quickly. The heat was noticeable inside her plug as well as the LCL was suddenly almost unbearably hot.

"Spreading AT Field!" Shinji announced as he made a last ditch effort to save Rei. As the shield melted, Shinji layered his AT Field on top of Rei's own. The combined force of both Ænima Terminus reduced the effective energy level of Ramiel's beam by about half, making it possible for Rei to tank the hit, though her chest armor was quickly melting.

Rei cried out in pain and Shinji refused to wait for the target lock, going instead with his first instinct. He fired parallel along the beam trajectory of the angel's shot. The magnetic fields were no longer repelling; instead, it caused his beam to accelerate the positrons to beyond the speed of light. They tore through the angel with little resistance causing another all-too-human scream to escape the angel. This time the angel shifted to its spiky form and began to list like a ship sinking a sea. The mining laser stopped as the entire mass of the angel fell to the street and stayed there.

"The target has gone silent!" Makoto reported happily.

"Confirmed," Maya replied calmly. "No blue patterns remain. Ramiel has been terminated."

"Retrieving Rei!" Shinji reported as he got up and went to 00's platform below him. He had to force open the plug cover in order to get the plug to eject enough to get it opened. He noted grimly that it was still hot enough to melt the armor on his hands. He gently put the plug down before ejecting his own.

He pried opened the bars for the emergency release system, ignoring the pain in his hands as he forced the plug opened. When it opened he saw Rei lying there with a hand in the LCL coating the bottom of the plug. He stepped in finding it about knee deep and uncomfortably warm.

"Rei," he whispered and watched her eyes open. A small moan of pain escaped her lips as she tried to right her sitting position.

"This seems familiar," Rei mused. "You burned your hands, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Shinji agreed. "Not badly. The plug suit mostly protected them."

"Your father did the same for me once," Rei replied. "The activation experiment."

"I see," Shinji replied as he gently picked her up like a bride being carried over the threshold. He stepped out of the plug and sat down with her. "It's over."

"Good," Rei whispered leaning into Shinji. "I guess once I'm in better straights you'd like to celebrate."

Shinji knew immediately what she meant by that. "Only if you're up for it."

"I'm a nymphomaniac, you tell me," she said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Shinji laughed. "I suspected. Not a whole lot of experience with men though, I'm guessing."

"You were my first," Rei agreed. "Hikari is a lucky girl."

"Not yet she isn't," Shinji chuckled, but his face quickly took a more thoughtful demeanor. "She's special…"

"You won't use her like you use others."

Shinji's face took a more angered appearance and Rei wondered if she said the wrong thing.

"Let's get something straight," Shinji said with only a hint of aggression in his tone. "I do not _use _people for sex. I offer it to them with no strings attached, unless they want strings. I need them to be relaxed and into it, otherwise I get nothing out of it. Understand?"

"I thought only Salubri needed consenting subjects," Rei pointed out, realizing what Shinji meant by 'not getting anything out of it'.

"The blood tastes better when it's offered freely," Shinji pointed out. "I am not my father's son, and I'd appreciate you not suggesting the reverse."

"Forgive me then, I made poor assumptions."

"It's alright," Shinji said, now relaxed again. "You're used to dealing with my father. This time, the apple rolled down the hill, into a stream, floated 100 miles down-river, and came to rest on the other side of the country."

Rei chuckled at that.

* * *

**Izuri Manor, 1 Hour Later**

* * *

Izuri Manor was a large house sitting well north of Tokyo-3. This beautiful Western-stylized manor house stood out from the other homes in the vicinity, though the nearest neighbor was more than 10 kilometers away. It was home to the Toredor Primogen, Nariko Izuri. It also doubled as the meeting house for the Camarilla out of Tokyo-3. Tonight was only a meeting for the Primogens, so no other vampires were there save for a few stragglers who called the manor home at the allowance of it's beautiful and generous owner. The meeting was very informal and more of a random gathering than anything else.

Nariko is a vision of Japanese beauty. Her unusual sapphire blue eyes are extremely rare in Japan, and hint at a possible Westerner in her lineage, though she always claims to be of pure blood. She normally wears beautiful kimonos at home and only used a little makeup to accentuate her already breathtaking beauty. She is generous and polite, and of course as a Toredor, obsessed with art and culture. She is also, like many female Toredor, a nymphomaniac. In her case, she prefers the company of other girls, but is not picky as to who she spends her nights with. Of course, most vampires don't regularly engage in such activities, but with a Toredor in this world, it's almost become expected.

She stood now on her balcony overlooking her more Japanese parts of her property. Out back there were a couple of Primogen speaking to each other. She made them out to be the current Ventrue Primogen, Andre Gulzia, who came from Italy a while back to push his business interests into Japan. He so loved the country he stayed here. He was speaking with the Bruja Primogen, Tatsu Kazakura, though what they were speaking about was outside of earshot. She assumed it was probably Andre needing some of Tatsu's men for an enforcement issue of one of his less-than-legal enterprises. It was well known to the Camarilla that Tatsu was also a high ranking member of the Yakuza, and could easily make things happen.

"I see you are enjoying the night, Lady Izuri," came a raspy voice.

Nariko turned gracefully to see a man who was for all intents and purposes her direct opposite on the Camarilla; the Nosferatu Primogen Isran Kaz. No one really knew where he had come from before taking control of the Nosferatu kindred in Tokyo-3, but none can deny he had a certain charisma about him despite being as horribly disfigured as all his kin were.

He stood nearly 6' tall and lanky. He wore dark clothing that was just as rotted as most Nosferatu appeared to be. His face was elongated by the curse with a hooked nose and a pronounced overbite through which his fangs were easily visible. His back was somewhat hunched, which meant he could have easily been much taller. Unlike most Nosferatu, he didn't smell horrid, instead carrying around the odd mix of sandalwood and burnt newspaper.

"I do try, Lord Kaz," she replied gracefully bowing to him. A head nod was all she received in response.

"And I must say, you are looking even lovelier today then the last time we met," he complimented.

Nariko knew well how the game was played, Kaz probably wanted something, but that was fine by her. Favor with the Nosferatu was nothing to overlook, for in the Camarilla, they were well known as the spymasters of the vampire underworld. And a favor here and there could curry one in return later, one that could prove most informative.

"You flatter me, Lord Kaz," she replied with a soft smile. "I imagine such beauty is difficult to come by sometimes."

"Quite," he replied. "But you know well how we survive, my lady."

"What can I do for you?" she asked in a welcoming fashion.

"It's to my understanding that a lady in your position has access to certain things that a man in mine would find impossible to attain," he explained. "Being so connected to the 'art scene' as it were, I thought that perhaps such a thing would not be beyond your reach."

"Such a thing?" she asked, now genuinely curious. Nosferatu usually inhabit the drainage systems and sewers of a city, and would therefore have no real use for art in any form. Lord Kaz always struck her as being different from other Nosferatu, but she couldn't help but wonder if the object he was seeking had other… esoteric purposes.

"It is called the Mortar of Blood, an alchemical tool that is more of an art object then a tool. I know many of them were made, but few have access to them. I'm told the marble used in its construction is blood red with other colors reminiscent of vitae."

"You are in luck my friend," Nariko replied. "I happen to have two, one on display and one I keep stored here."

"Splended," Kaz replied. "How much would you be willing to part with it for?"

"Well," Nariko began. "It's not really for sale, and I have no need of money right now… however for you, I would be willing to part with it, but not for money."

"A favor then?" Kaz offered. "They are significantly more valuable."

"As is the mortar," she pointed out. "One favor, to be cashed in later, and the mortar is all yours, my dear Isran."

Lord Kaz smiled cruely, his fangs were pristine though his other teeth were of variable lengths and not uniform. "Done!" he replied. "I see you understand the value of such things. I look forward to seeing what you desire of us."

"When the time comes, my friend… when the time comes."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the home, the remaining members of the Prince's advisors relaxed in the living room, along with the Prince himself.

"So far, everything seems to be in place," Rendard said to push the conversation forward. "Though the recent revelation of another vampire being in NERV was not something I was expecting."

Lady Vashra chuckled lightly. "Oh, Renard," she said with a little bit of sexy spin to her voice, normally out of place with the Tremere. "I was expecting you to find out about that so much sooner. Your informants must be slipping."

Next to Lady Vashra a vampire sat upside down in his chair; his legs following the back of the chair while his head was upside-down hanging slightly from the seat. Of course, he was no ordinary vampire…

He laughed in a mixture of seeming insanity and amusment. "Ah for the wool to be over thine eyes, Sir Pembrooke!" The crazed vampire spoke. "Quite unusual… yes! Quite unusual indeed!"

The vampire was Juju Uzahada, and there is a reason he is insane; he is the Malkavian Primogen.

"I wish I found so many things as amusing as you do," Renard said flatly. "I might take a little more joy out of life."

"Oh cheer up!" Uzahada replied. "Besides! It seems as if your childe and hers hit it off quite well, yes?"

"So it appears at least," Lady Vashra replied.

_I wouldn't be surprised if Shinji hadn't already slept with her,_ Renard thought sardonically. "As we have been led to believe," he said aloud, though the look on Juju Uzahada's face told him that the crazed Primogen thought exactly the same thing as he did.

Malkavians may not be sane, but they are incredibly intelligent. In ages past they served as oracles and seers to the Camarilla, and though they still serve in such capacities today, their mental wit is now far more prized.

"And having someone of Rei's talents working with your childe is a win-win situation I'd wager!" Uzahada continued to explain. "She's been there the longest! Heck, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she hasn't dropped some important bits to him already."

On the table between the three of them sat a huge book, one far larger than any tome had a right to be. This book was seemingly constructed with a polished obsidian cover with gold inlay. A symbol on the front of the book was that of a cross with a pair of feathered wings behind it. Latin inlay spoke the title of this massive volume…

"De Angelorum"… "The Book of Angels" if you translated it from Latin...

Everything a person would ever want to know about angelic beings was within the tome. There were also mentions of the messengers of the end times. But there was a problem with the book, one major snag that specifically affected the prophecies of the end times…

Renard stood up. "It is unfortunate that her existence within NERV has not given her clairvoyance enough to find out how to translate the last passages of the book," he said at length. We have the names, but not the rest of the information on the angels.

"And none of this tells us what NERV is really up to," Lady Vashra added. "Without knowing what NERV is up to, we have no defense against it."

"I still believe that Gendo Ikari plans to use the Angel War as a reason to assume world power," the prince concluded. "What else could he do?"

"Hehe, yes… what else indeed!" Juju Uzahada replied, still upside-down in his chair. "But I believe you are greatly mistaken my dear prince." Renard looked at him like he grew another head. "Oh come now, certainly someone as intelligent as you could have come to different outcomes of this gambit. The power of the Angels is great beyond measure! So… why not some other, shall we say, esoteric goal?"

"Like what?"

"He has a point," Lady Vashra agreed. "We really don't know what can be done with the power of the Angels. What if he were to discover the source of their power, and find a way to harness it somehow. World domination would only be a logical conclusion, but it could go even deeper than that."

"And if you don't mind be saying," Uzahada jumped in. "It could spell doom for us nightcrawlers."

"There is another point," Lady Vashra added. "I receintly spoke to your childe, directly. He indicated that Gendo has been having conversations with 12 mysterious individuals."

"SEELE?" Renard asked.

"Quite possibly," she agreed.

"If that's true, then I hope my boy finds the truth of this soon," Renard replied. "If SEELE is in any way a part of this, it could mean disaster for our kind."

"Indeed," Uzahada agreed darkly. "I have the utmost faith in your childe, my prince. We have but to be patient."

* * *

**Imeda Café, Late Afternoon the Next Day**

* * *

For Shinji, school had passed with nary an incident, though some students did ask rather inquisitively about the removal of the angel carcass in the middle of the city. Shinji could, of course, not comment much but to say that NERV was taking this opportunity to learn more about their enemy but he couldn't be more specific.

The café was the perfect place to unwind with the girl he was in love with, Hikari Horaki. She'd been silent much of the day and here was no exception. She seemed happy to be in his presence but…

"What's wrong?" Shinji asked with obvious concern in his voice.

"It's nothing," Hikari replied, perhaps a bit too quickly.

"Tell me," Shinji replied immediately. It was a command, but one Hikari would have obeyed even if he had asked nicely.

"Kodama is leaving," she replied. "She got her job in Tokyo-2 and she's moving out this weekend.

"But that's a good thing, right?" Shinji asked. "She's getting on with her life."

"Of course it is but…" She sighed visibly looking sad. "I'll miss her terribly."

"You still have one more sister to take care of?" Shinji said, more pointing out than a question.

"Nozumi," she replied. "Yes. Father is never home, so it's just me and her now."

"I'm sorry."

Hikari sat in silence for a moment. Shinji reached up and touched the side of her face and she sucked in a soft breath of air. Color filled in her cheeks at his attention.

"Shinji," Hikari whispered. "I… I love you so much, and yet… I know so little about you."

Shinji smiled softly. "We have plenty of time to get to know each other."

"I feel like there are things about you I should know…"

Those words caused Shinji to shrink back a little causing Hikari to wonder if she said the wrong thing.

"Hikari-chan," he whispered. "There are… some things about me I am a little afraid to tell you."

"What sorts of things?" she asked nervously. "If it's about your family business, I won't tell anyone! Honest!"

Shinji smiled softly. "It is about my family… but it's probably not what you think."

"Then tell me," Hikari replied. "You can tell me anything, you know that?"

'_So can I tell you that I'm a blood-sucking playboy that's worth more than many small countries?' _he thought sardonically.

"All I can say, is that I'm not like other people," Shinji finally confessed.

"Of course you're not," Hikari replied as she shifted closer to him. "You're my boyfriend." Before Shinji could react, she nearly jumped on him and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and fell into her embrace.

'_Soon', _he decided. _'I must tell her soon.'_

* * *

_Be obscene! Be be obscene!_

_Be obscene baby, and not heard_


	6. Never Alone

**A/N: **Lemon Warning

* * *

**VI: Never Alone**

* * *

**One Week Later**

* * *

Misato has had a bad week. Between the paperwork that needed to be filled out after Operation Yashima, then the sudden and unexpected mission to stop Jet Alone from blowing up in the middle of Tokyo-2, she needed a break. Downtown Tokyo-3 had several bars that served her purposes just fine. Although she knew she'd have to fight off the occasional sleezebag, she was okay with that scenario.

Jet Alone was a set up. There was no question in her mind of that at all. Someone from NERV must have gotten ahold of the program and reset it. The password was changed, the system refused to shut down and she almost fried herself in the process of saving the city. She got a commendation from Commander Ikari, but it felt wrong. She knew she wasn't the one to stop the machine.

"Excuse me?" asked a soft voice. Misato turned to see who it was and nearly gasped at the beauty she beheld. The woman before her was perfectly shaped with an ample bosom, blue eyes like glittering sapphires, and perfect curves beneath her equally perfect little red dress. Her hair was braided down her back and she wore little obvious make-up, being a natural beauty.

Misato shook off the fascination for a moment and finally spoke. "Something I can do for you?" she asked.

"I just wanted some company," the girl replied. "It's been rather droll this evening." She took a seat across from Misato at her table and held out a gloved hand. "Izuri Nariko," she greeted.

"Katsuragi Misato," Misato replied gently taking her hand. She was so soft in her touch, almost as if she were afraid to break the girl for fear she was a porcelain doll. Beauty like hers was almost unreal.

"A pleasure to meet you, Misato," Nariko replied softly. "Or was that too forward?"

"No… it's fine," Misato replied, trying not to reveal she was suddenly nervous around her. There was a sudden desire to want to give the girl a good impression of herself. Misato only had one same-sex relationship before, and that was a brief fling with Ritsuko in college. Still, she's had zero luck with men so…

'_What is wrong with me today?" _she asked herself. Misato thought that it must be stress since she hadn't even thought about dating girls since college. Now suddenly…

"Good," Nariko said softly, breaking her from her chain of thoughts. "I've had such a hard time finding someone that seems interesting. "

"Oh?" Misato replied. "I usually don't go to places like this to get a guy."

"You'd be surprised how many fine prospects will show up in a place like this. You're the first this evening that seemed interesting enough."

Misato instantly understood what she was saying. Nariko, she realized, was a lesbian. While Misato considered herself to definitely not be full on lesbian material, she couldn't voice that opinion. Nariko was too sweet… too tempting… It was like she had some kind of power over her, and it wasn't something she could resist.

"I see," Misato replied, though a definite blush was now creeping across her cheeks. "I'm flattered that you choose to spend your time with me."

"You act coy, but I can see you are a strong woman, especially with that NERV flight jacket you wear." Misato looked at her jacket realizing she left it on again. "It's nice to stay in touch with the people that are saving our lives."

"Well," Misato whispered. "I guess that's true. Or is it that you love a woman in uniform?" _'What did I just say?!'_

Nariko chuckled seductively. "I think you know the answer to that," she purred, as she leaned in closer. "Bartender, get her another, on me… and another of my personal fav."

"You don't have to do that," Misato pointed out.

"True, but I want to buy you a drink. That's not a problem is it…" she looked at her rank insignia. "Captain?"

"No… of course not…"

"You should be a Major by now."

"Heh," Misato chuckled slightly. "I'm sure my time will come."

The bartender brought them their drinks.

"Of that I have no doubt," Nariko replied as their glasses met.

* * *

"Gotta lay off of the beer I think," Misato whispered to herself as she rode the elevator up to her apartment level. She was still flustered from her meeting with the young Nariko. Though nothing seemed to come of their meeting other than an exchange of phone numbers, Misato found it hard not to think about her… her grace and beauty captivated the captain.

She finally reached her apartment and entered it. It wasn't a school night, so Shinji was likely over at Kensuke's for the weekend like he planned. This left her alone in the apartment. She dropped her stuff off on the table by the door and made her way to her room, taking off her jacket as she went.

When she entered her room, she froze. Someone was already in there.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't show," Nariko said seductively.

"Wha–" Misato's words caught in her throat. The presence of Nariko was all over the room; her scent, her energy, it was everywhere at once. She couldn't move, could barely breathe. The young Japanese beauty lay on her side on Misato's bed, her perfect curves on display as the dress seemed to barely contain her radiance.

Nariko shifted to a kneeling position and beckoned her closer. The pure power of her Presence left Misato no room to negotiate, and she obeyed, sliding into a kneeling position before the beautiful woman. She smiled seductively, showing glistening fangs, and yet Misato was not afraid when she saw them. On the contrary, she was elated and perfectly calm at the same time.

Misato said nothing as Nariko slowly stripped her of her remaining clothes; she made no fuss as Nariko lifted her shirt over her head and unfastened her bra. She moved little more than to assist in the removal of her slacks and underwear. Nariko shrugged her dress off of her body, revealing she didn't believe in undergarments. She gently pushed Misato back until the girl was lying down, and slowly she traced the scar on her stomach and lower torso with her fingertips. Misato's eyes fluttered closed as Nariko explored her, gently and softly taking in the texture of every square inch of her body. Misato was actually quite fit for her age, as the demands of her job forced her to remain active most of the time. Some of Nariko's touches were so feather light Misato had arched her back in approval, even as the touch circled her ample breasts and traced down her center line to the patch of dark purple above her apex.

"Is this a dream?" Misato whispered, almost sounding disconnected. The next sound she made was a moan of pleasure as Nariko's fingers slid into her folds.

"No," Nariko replied seductively. "But when I am finished with you, your old life will seem like a dream."

Those expert fingers continued to pleasure and tease Misato as the seemingly older girl reached out to embrace her new lover. She had no idea what was really happening her, but the seduction she realized was complete. Nariko leaned down as she played to kiss Misato deeply, feeling her writhe under her touch as the she spread her legs further apart to allow Nariko full access to her body. Their breasts rubbed together as Nariko positioned herself over Misato, pushing her knee into the lying girl's crotch and grinding her. Misato rolled her hips up and managed to grind Nariko in response. Now with both girls moaning, they locked eyes with each other and observed how the other was becoming more and more turned on by the experience.

It was Misato that reached a greater height faster, and Nariko wasted no time taking advantage of the purple-haired girl's moment of weakness, sliding down her body to suckle her right nipple. Nariko's right hand fell to her vagina again and pressed both her middle and ring fingers inside the slit. Misato bucked her hips again forcing the two fingers inside. They traced the inside upper wall of her entry, touching a sensitive spot and causing Misato to moan appreciatively at an even greater volume.

"Having fun?" Nariko whispered seductively before resuming her assault on Misato's breast. Misato couldn't vocalize anything short of a moan.

As Misato quickly pushed herself over the edge with her grinding, Nariko lifted her up, sitting over one leg and pulled her into another kiss. Even as Misato's body felt like it was pulsing with pleasure as she tried to come down, the kiss only kept her elated. Nariko stopped kissing her so the older girl was able to catch her breath. Before Misato could finish doing so she suddenly felt a piercing pain in the left side of her neck. Nariko was now fully pressed into her and Misato held on for all she was worth. The pain only brought her more pleasure somehow and she had no idea how it was happening to her. She felt a sucking on her neck and even that feeling was making her moan uncontrollably. Nariko reached back and wrapped the blanket around both of them without breaking her hold as she continued to drink Misato's blood.

Misato writhed in her arms, feeling unholy joy far beyond anything she ever imagined. She couldn't stop her body from climaxing several times in a row even as she was essentially being murdered. Nariko slowed the drain enough to torture Misato a bit more and listen to the sweet sounds of her crying out for more. The older girl never felt the cold reach her even as the barest final drops of her blood were draining away.

Nariko held her up as Misato slipped from life and cut a gash into her own left breast with a finger nail. As the blood ran down, she held Misato's mouth to the cut and the older woman instantly began sucking the wound. Nariko cried out in ecstasy. To her, the only thing that was more of a turn on than sex was being drained by someone else. Misato didn't even notice the pins and needles feeling of the transformation. She felt only warmth flowing though her body from toe to crown like a tide. She lifted her new Sire slightly causing both of their pussy's to come together and began grinding her as she continued to feed.

Nariko instantly had an orgasm, and it kept triggering with each grind as Misato was enjoying herself. Her cries became an elated 'thank you' for returning the favor. For over two minutes the pleasure felt it like would never end, but finally, the purple haired girl screamed in her own ecstasy as she let go of the wound on Nariko as she fell back against the headrest.

Nariko was 'breathing' hard, trying to recover from such a shared experience. She carefully separated their lower halves and gently pulled Misato down the bed a little so she could sleep on her own pillow. Then Nariko curled up with her new childe, holding the girl's head to her chest. She watched as Misato suddenly looked a few years younger, and perhaps even more radiant than before.

The Toreador Primogen carefully reached over to her dress, laying over the end table, and extracted her cellphone. She dialed a number and kept her voice down.

"Hello, my Prince," she whispered. "You'll never guess what I just did…"

* * *

**One Hour Later**

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Shinji said over his cellphone. "You're telling me that Nariko Izuri finally got herself a childe? What took her so long?"

"Well, " Renard Pembrooke began. "It's not the fact that she has a childe that should concern you as to who the childe is?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow. He looked over toward the distant tent and made sure Kensuke was still nowhere nearby. "Who?"

"Your guardian," he replied flatly.

"What?!" Shinji couldn't believe his ears. "Why? Why did she do that?!"

"To help you… well partly to help you at any rate."

"How can this possibly…" his voice trailed off as he realized he was about to answer his own question. "It's pure genius… why didn't I think of it?"

"You have your mind and heart set on that Horaki girl, that's why."

"Right," Shinji replied sheepishly. "I'd ask how you found out about that so quickly, but the answer is pretty obvious when I think about it."

"I could care less about that," Renard replied. "Now you have two prime allies within NERV; a fellow pilot, and the operations director."

"Will she really defer to me?"

"She'll know exactly what your role is when she sees you. We all know our places."

Shinji smiled at that comment. _'Oh yes… the whole of NERV will know its place soon enough. This shadow war hasn't even started yet, and already I have a few important pieces in the right places.'_

"Any word from Lady Vashra yet?" he asked.

"No, just a short message meant to tell me she hasn't forgotten about your request yet. "

"I need that information," Shinji noted. "I could begin the operation to overtake NERV at any time with the people and resources at my disposal, but it won't mean a thing if I can't either eliminate SEELE, or just take control of them. In fact, I'll likely just invite retaliation."

"True enough. Be patient, and see about getting more allies inside NERV."

"Oh don't worry about that," Shinji assured him. "Plans are already in place."

* * *

**NERV, Office of the Supreme Commander**

* * *

"The Jet Alone incident went according to plan," Gendo said to a seemingly empty room. "The Japanese Government is again in our debt for stopping the rogue machine, and EVA is now the undisputed master of angel killing. Despite the cries of caution from the old men, all the pieces are falling into place."

He stood up and walked towards the dark windows overlooking the barely lit Geofront beyond. "But there are things that are bothering me. Shinji is not precisely what I expected. He's more confident than expected, more self-assured, at least where EVA is concerned. His social skills seem only somewhat stunted. Most disturbing is the fact that he seems to have a girlfriend now." He sighed. "Still, such a thing will only bind him to me more. He has something precious to protect, so now there is no doubt he will continue to pilot. I must learn as much as I can about this Horaki Hikari. Why has this seemingly plain and unremarkable girl captured my son's attention so much?"

He walked back towards his desk and began to place papers into a manila folder. "She is cute, I suppose. Not what I would have considered prime material if I were that age, but then again, perhaps he sees this as all he deserves. It would certainly indicate the lower self-esteem that was planned.

"Enough about that… As I speak, another piece of the puzzle is being transferred to me. At this point, my agent inside SEELE would have retrieved the package and is preparing to embark on his trip across the ocean. NERV Germany received their orders to prepare 02 for transport, and when it arrives, the package will arrive as well."

He put the folder, marked "Ikari, Shinji" away. "What I want to know is… will my son's differences from the scenario be enough to cause problems later?"

"I wouldn't think so," came a female voice from the shadows. Gendo showed no emotion when he heard the voice; it was one he had gotten used to. "Keep an eye on him, something may be amiss, but it should not interfere with the scenario at all."

"Good," he replied. "At this late stage, altering the scenario is virtually impossible."

A shadow in the darkness moved, causing a wisp of black smoky energy to follow the movement in a nearly serpentine pattern. "Indeed. We have worked many years on this, and far too hard to allow something to interfere with the scenario now. One day, it will be done, and you shall have exactly what you desire."

"And what do you get out of it?" Gendo asked.

"A place in the ruling pantheon of course," the dark female replied. A pair of red, serpentine eyes appeared in the shadows at the source of the voice. "I trust my work for you will be rewarded."

"Of course…"

The female smiled cruelly in the shadows… that comment wasn't meant for him….

* * *

**Sunday Night, Katsuragi Apartment**

* * *

Shinji walked into the apartment with his customary announcement but didn't receive a reply back. He wondered if Misato was home or out on the prowl. He took off his shoes and entered the kitchen where he got his answer.

A pile of empty cans sat on the table. Misato was sipping another of her favorite beer, Yebisu. She was wearing panties and a camisole top that was perhaps slightly large on her now that her size had physically shrunk about an inch or two due to her transformation. The opening on the side gave Shinji quite the view of her side boob, with the exception of the most tantalizing part. Her panties were also a little large on her now and barely staying over her hips. From his position he could see the waistband in the front was sagging, and he was pretty sure if he was standing next to her, he could look down and leave the girl with no secrets left to hide.

"Someone is enjoying themselves," Shinji said as soon as she got over the mild shock of the scene.

"I love the taste of it," Misato said almost seductively. "The malt and barley, the way it bubbles down my throat. I can still feel a little of the old buzz too. But now, I can drink to my heart's content… and no more hangovers. It's so wonderful."

"I just hope nobody notices the subtle differences in you when you go into work tomorrow," Shinji commented.

"Oh who cares?" Misato pouted. "I'll just tell them I'm on a crash diet, and I'm not wearing my lifts anymore." She smiled as she put her beer down and then concluded in a sing-song voice, "No one will be the wiser!"

"Carefree, as you always have been. I guess no one would suspect much then."

Shinji left the room and entered his bedroom. After sliding the door closed he stripped down to his boxers and dropped into bed, pulling the sheet and blanket up to just about chest level. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep, of course a difficult prospect when its nighttime and you're a vampire.

He laid for a few minutes before he felt a weight come over him. He felt strong legs at his hips running along the outsides of his thighs, and felt weight come down on either side of his shoulders. There was no need to open his eyes to know what was happening, but he did so anyway.

"Does your sweet little Hikari-chan know about the real you?" she asked with more seduction in her voice than would normally be tolerated between a guardian and her ward.

"Not yet," he said directly with a sigh. "I should tell her." His head turned to the right as if ashamed of the fact that he had not done so already.

"Do you think she could take the real you?" Misato asked, a little less seductively and now more concerned.

"I'm surprised you care," Shinji replied.

"Of course I care," she replied. "I want to make sure my little Shin-chan is happy. And I know this girl makes you happy."

"You're not just saying this because I'm the childe of the Prince, and therefore heir to the seat of Tokyo-3, are you?"

Misato looked at him sourly. She shifted her weight back so she was sitting on his thighs and was able to take the weight off her hands.

"You know I'm no politician," Misato replied with a little disappointment in her voice. "I'm still your Guardian, childe of the Prince or no."

"Man's laws don't apply to us," Shinji pointed out.

"Then you'll respect me as your Guardian because it is the honorable thing to do," Misato countered. "And I can't imagine what it would be like to be an honorless Ventrue."

Shinji frowned and Misato smiled as she realized she had him now. "I see Lady Izrui has been teaching you some things."

"More than just appreciation for the finer things in life," Misato confirmed as she leaned forward again, this time to plant a soft kiss on the lips of her ward. Shinji returned the gesture.

"So I gathered," he replied. "So… you are at my disposal then."

"Silly Ventrue," Misato whispered seductively. "Always putting business before pleasure. Of course I am at your disposal, but I want to have some fun… and I have it on good authority that you can make a girl scream pretty loudly."

"Lady Izuri can't keep her mouth shut," Shinji replied causing Misato's eyes to widen as she realized that her Sire wasn't kidding. "Don't tell my father, he still doesn't know I've actually had her in my bed… a few times…"

"Closer to a dozen," Misato pointed out.

Shinji sighed. "Do Toreador always share their secrets with their childes and sires?"

"Gossip makes the world go around," Misato replied. "So does sex." She kissed him again, this time with far more passion. Shinji lifted his right leg slightly pressing his thigh into Misato's pubic region. She responded by grinding into the offending limb. Shinji could tell by the feel that Misato shaved, probably on the behest of Lady Izuri.

Misato forced herself back a little, making Shinji drop his leg before lifting herself slightly and pulling her panties off. She ripped down the sheets and his boxers in one smooth motion. He tried to lean up to kiss her, and she returned the kiss but pushed his head back down in the same motion a she shifted her weight forward and prepared to impale herself on him.

"You're not going to let me do anything, are you?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

Misato nibbled on his neck lightly with her fangs but didn't break the skin. " Poor poor Shin-chan, always with the weight of the world on your shoulders, always with the plan within plans. Tonight, there are no plans, no schemes, and no distractions. You don't have to do anything, you just have to enjoy the ride." Misato sat back up and pulled her cami top off allowing Shinji to see her massive breasts in all their glory. Of course, he didn't necessarily favor large breasts but he could appreciate them when presented to him. She reached down and positioned his member at her entrance before unceremoniously dropping down, burying him inside her to the hilt.

"Oh Kami-sama!" Misato gasped as she felt his member twitch inside of her. The fit was perhaps a little too snug, but she started to grind anyway, rolling her hips expertly. She let go of his wrists and he instantly took his opportunity to use his hands. Shinji squeezed and massaged her breasts, rolling his thumbs over her areolas as she continued to grind away.

Misato shifted from grinding to bouncing a few minutes later, panting in time with each bounce. Her body started feeling tighter and tighter around him as she was getting closer to orgasm. Shinji thought that it was pretty fast as she suddenly picked up the pace. His hands slid to her hips as he noticed briefly the faint scar on her chest. It was the last coherent thought he had before her body reached its climax and her vagina clamped down on him hard enough to push him over the edge.

With a grunt he released inside of her and kept going until Misato's body released him. She collapsed on top of him, still 'breathing' hard. Shinji shifted a little and pulled the blanket over both of them.

"Not bad for an older girl eh?" Misato whispered as she nibbled on his ear and curled up into him for warmth.

He really didn't have the heart to tell her Rei was better…

* * *

_The day that love opened our eyes, we watched the world end_

_We have "high" places but we have no friends_

_They told us sin's not good,_

_But we know it's great_

_War-time full-frontal drugs, sex-tank armor plate_

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, yeah, this chapter was almost pure smut… speaking of smut, guess who's debuting in the next chapter…


End file.
